Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 4 - Sarah

“You married us?!” I shriek.

The ginger prick averts his gaze from me.

“I promised,” he says gruffly, “I’d keep you safe. This was the best way to do it.”

For a moment, I can’t find my voice. I choke for a second before I can put my rage into words: “How is that supposed to protect me?!”

“It’s complicated,” Rufus replies, “But it’s part of dragon shifter culture and magic. It will keep you safer than being alone.”

He’s got his head hung shamefully low, but he’s meeting my eye the whole time as he admits it. I at least believe him. I rub my hand over my face, still feeling the prickling heat of fury passing through me.

Frowning, I turn away. I pace up and down my living room, feeling Rufus’s eyes follow me as I move. I can recall the smallest flashes of memory—standing at the altar, one of the other dragons asking me questions. I remember that I was giggly. I was excited. And when he asked me if I took Rufus to be my husband, I said, “I do.”

Why was I so excited? I was definitely under the influence of something, but I remember the excitement. While I was under the influence, I was giddy at the idea of getting married. I was overwhelmed with the romantic idea of getting married in a way I’ve never been when I was sober.

They say a drunk mind speaks a sober heart, and I’m just wondering… am I excited about marriage? I… I think about it, and I like the idea… I think. I’ve just never explored it because… well, once I become someone’s wife, everything I’ve ever achieved in my life becomes moot. I stop being Greyson Ridge’s first female Sheriff, and I start being someone’s wife. Rufus’s wife.

When I turn back to him, he’s still watching me carefully.

“How could you do this to me?” I ask, my voice low. I have to keep it low, or it might start shaking.

Shaking in rage or from sadness, I don’t know.

“It’s just for now,” Rufus says, “Cyrus can explain the mechanics behind it later. It’ll make more sense if he explains it. It always does.”

“Oh, right!” I snap, “It always does?!” Do you people marry unconscious women against their will a lot, then?!”

“No!” Rufus claps back, “It’s not normal that humans get involved in dragon business like this!”

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and starts again.

“Look, you know how sometimes you have to arrest Merl and stick him in the drunk tank for his own good?” he asks.

I scoff. I come forward and jab a finger into his chest.

“I’m not Merl! I don’t need to be stuck in the marriage equivalent of the drunk tank!” I snap.

As I stab my finger into his chest, I can’t help but notice that he’s barely clothed. He seems to have just scavenged clothing from somewhere—I assume the dragons have piles of clothing hidden away—but the clothes he’s found are smaller. They barely fit him. The buttons of this shirt stretch, barely containing his pecs. Only my fingertip rests on him, but it’s slipped into the buttonhole, directly on his skin. As I touch him, it feels like a static shock passes up my body. So much heat passes between him and me from just the tip of my finger…

I never noticed… how big he was… and well-shaped…

What? No, concentrate!

The chest rumbles under my finger as he speaks again:

“Well, apparently, you do! Not everyone just gets kidnapped like that!”

“You’re blaming me for that?” I ask, “You’re blaming me for my own kidnapping?”

“No!” Rufus sneers, “Obviously, that was some Eclipse bastard who shouldn’t have dared lay a finger on you—but you’re not going to save yourself, and you know you’re not! You can’t stand there and argue when someone’s trying to save your life!”

I suck in a breath—but lose the words before I can argue back.

He was trying to save my life… In the overwhelming realization of waking up married, that part got a little lost in translation; that’s right. I could have died. Whatever the kidnapper wanted me for, it can’t have been good. I stop to think about it for a moment; the memories of the drug-addled terror come back—feeling numb and helpless as I’m taken away, unable to do anything to stop my fate as I’m dragged into the sky, falling in and out of consciousness.

If it hadn’t been for Rufus, I could have been killed.

As I fall to silence, he gives a triumphant chuckle, and another coil of irritation pulses through me.

“Well, thanks,” I snap sarcastically, “But the Eclipse dragon snuck up on me, and I won’t be letting that happen again—”

“Right,” Rufus cuts across me, “And neither will I. The marriage is part of that.”

“God, you’re so annoying!” I growl under my breath, “Why did you have to be the one to step in?”

I barely think about the words before they slip out. Rufus gives a harsh laugh.

“What, you’d rather be married to someone else?” he sneers.

“You know what, I would,” I snipe back, “I’d rather be married to anyone else. ”

He barks a few more laughs.

“Anyone else? Should I tell Merl that?” he cackles.

A bitter laugh escapes me, too.

“Maybe you should!” I clap back, “Maybe he’d respect my autonomy more! At least, as far as I know, Merl has never married someone without asking them!”

“We did ask!” Rufus points out, “And you did say yes!”

“I was under the influence of… something!” I protest.

Rufus grins widely. He steps closer to me, and I get hit with his scent. It’s a deep, rich, spicy musk. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is—it’s a little cedarwood, a little allspice, a little this, a little that. Smoky and spicy. Very dragon.

My stomach gives a little flip. A tingle of arousal shudders through me; suddenly, I want to lean my head right into his shoulder and breathe it in as deeply as my lungs will allow. Feel that warm skin on mine…

What is happening to me?

My skin prickles, and suddenly, I’m staring into his jade-green eyes, his ginger hair flowing around his handsome face. I don’t know if he’s stepped closer or if I’ve just realized how close he already was.

“Well,” he purrs, “I know you were, but I think some of those things you were saying might have been true anyway.”

My heart starts pounding even harder in my chest.

Oh, god… what secrets did I blurt out while I was under the influence?!

“Like what?!” I demand.

“You were excited to be married for one thing,” he says, “You kept saying you’d never been in a relationship like that and giggling away. You said you were excited.”

He smirks at me.

“You were acting adorable , and I think what you said then might have been true,” he teases, “Even if you won’t admit it now.”

Heat crawls up into my face, but I try to draw in a deep breath to keep my red face under control. I don’t think it works; his green eyes flicker down to my face, and he laughs.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Rufus asks.

“No!” I bark back, “I—I’m sure I was just talking nonsense! I wouldn’t have even been excited for anything if I hadn’t been drugged up!”

Rufus gives me a knowing smile.

“Right.” He draws out the syllable, “And what about you never having been in a relationship like this before?”

Another wave of heat moves up into my face. Rufus starts laughing harder.

“That’s none of your goddamn business!” I answer back.

“I thought so!” He laughs knowingly, “You’ve got a different side to you, Sheriff!”

Another curl of rage in me blossoms. I jab a finger into his chest.

“Yeah?” I demand, “And what about you? What kind of state is your love life in that you’d be willing to participate in this bullshit?”

Suddenly, he stops laughing. The smile drops from his face, and he just stares for a moment as I catch him on the back foot. A smile cracks my expression.

“That’s what I thought,” I answer back, “You’re obviously not doing too hot in that department if you’d do this!”

“Hey, I married you to protect you!” he protests.

“Yeah, and I married you because I was drugged up!” I answer back, “Out of the two of us, I think your case is the sadder one here! Either you wanted to marry me, and you’re lying about all of this, or this really is a fake marriage to protect me, and you were just single enough to make it work—either way, I think your case is sadder.”

Rufus pauses for another moment. I start laughing when I see how stuck he is for words. After a moment, he starts chuckling a little bit.

“Touché, I guess,” he mutters.

I grin in the admitted defeat. I’m surprised by how hard my heart is beating after the small discussion. I almost wish he had something to say so that we can keep it going—as erratic and nonsensical as that seems—there’s something exciting about all this.

More exciting than it used to be…

“So,” Rufus says, “what do you want to do about this? The marriage is to protect you, but if you really want to get out of it...”

He speaks in a low, serious tone. It prompts me to think seriously about it.

The truth is, all the police training in the world hasn’t prepared me for dealing with dragons. I don’t know if the marriage really is to protect me—because I don’t understand how these things work with dragons, with their magic, or even with their culture. Perhaps it really will magically protect me from getting kidnapped. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think I could have handled it myself, and that was… that was terrifying. I can’t have that happen again.

“Fine,” I grunt, “I’ll play along with this fake marriage. For now.”

I glare at him as he grins triumphantly.

“But don’t think this a permanent thing,” I say clearly, “This is just a protection measure. I’m trusting you with this.”

“Of course,” Rufus responds, but he still has that annoying smirk on his face.

I give a little growl of irritation. Rufus starts walking toward my door.

“I’m going to go give everyone else a heads up on what’s going on,” he says, “But I’ll be back to make sure you’re safe. I don’t think we should leave for the rest of the night after that, just in case.”

“Wait, are you planning to stay the night now?” I ask, flabbergasted, “Do you think you live here now or what?!”

Rufus looks over his shoulder at me.

“There’s no point in saving you from being kidnapped and marrying you for safety if I’m just going to abandon you , ” he says, “What if the dragon is still out there and comes back? You’ll need my help.”

I feel myself pout in frustration: damn, he’s probably right!

He slides his shirt off, and I’m staring at his deeply muscled back for a second before he leans down and pulls off his trousers. My eye is drawn down to his perfectly smooth and round ass.

How does… a man have an ass like that?

Wait, what’s happening to me? Since when do I gawk at people like that?

My face floods with heat, and I look away.

“Besides,” Rufus teases, “if we’re married, we ought to live together, don’t you think?”

Another pulse of irritation courses through me, and I spin toward him. He’s shifted. He beats his wings once to take to the skies.

I run after him out the back door.

“Asshole!” I shout after him, and I swear I can hear him laughing.