Dragon Down Under: Her Dragon Hero Read online

  There was nothing wrong with the little woman as far as Brim could see. Every curve, every smooth line of her skin, and her delicate features, made her fucking perfect.

  The tree bark splintered slightly when Brim gripped it tighter, his breath held as if waiting for her reply. He couldn’t barge in and save her from the dick dweeb of a man, if she didn’t want to be rescued.

  “I’ve tried for two years to be what you want. I’ve tried all those stupid diets you wanted me to try. I’ll never be good enough for you, Wayne. You know what, I’m sick of trying, and I’m sick of you.” With jerky movements, she yanked off the ring from her finger and slapped it against the human male’s chest. “I’m glad this holiday helped me to wise up to what an asshole you really are! And, I don’t care if no other man will...” She raised her hand and made little, air quotation marks, ‘want my fat body'. It’s better to live a life alone than put up with your shit a moment longer!”

  She spun on her flat, red shoes and stormed off.

  Brim felt his mouth turn up into a wide grin. Attagirl! He fucking loved her spark.

  The man called Wayne sputtered for a moment before his features twisted into a dark anger. He ran after the woman and grabbed her by the back of her neck.

  “You little bitch. I’ll make you pay for that!”

  The one thing his Sire and mother taught him was never, ever use your strength against a helpless female. Women were to be protected and cherished, never abused. Clearly, this human male had never been taught such lessons.

  Wayne pushed her towards the edge of the harbor wall, his intent clear. Brim knew he was going to throw her off as she shrieked and struggled in the man’s grip.

  Nothing stopped Brim this time. He growled low, pulling himself to his full height and stepped from the shadows. Within a few strides, he caught up to them.

  “Let the woman go.”

  Wayne swivelled around with Amber still in his grasp. “Stay out of…Shit!” Both his and Amber's eyes widened, taking in Brimstone's seven foot height and bulging muscles as he folded his arms, and stood directly in front of them.

  Wayne’s arms dropped from the woman. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and she turned around and swung her fist directly into Wayne’s nose.

  Brim grinned, hearing the slight crunch of blood vessels bursting. Then he smelled and saw the fresh blood trickling from Wayne’s nose. The man cupped his face, muffling a string of curses.

  “We’re well and truly through. When you get back to Melbourne, you can move your shit out of my house. In the meantime, go pack your bags and get out of my hotel room.”

  “Amber, be sensible about this—”

  “You heard her,” Brim rumbled. “Do as she says, or there won’t be enough of your face left to identify, if I decide to hit you.”

  She took several steps backwards towards Brim, seeking shelter closer to him. Her soft back and rear bumped directly into his front. His hands fell on her shoulders to steady her before she could pull away.

  “Easy, my lady, I won’t hurt you.” He softened his tone. A sizzle raced up both his arms and like lighting shot through his body. His dragon bolted up, awakening with frightening ferocity. Mine!

  His body reacted, lust making his skin heat and his cock strain painfully against the tight restriction of the denim jeans. He glanced down at the little woman. No! It couldn’t be happening, the little, human woman couldn’t be his mate.

  Mine, my mate, let me take her, I want to claim her. She is mine! The roar of his dragon thumped at the back of his brain. The impulse to shift, clutch her in his talons, fly away, and claim her was so strong, he didn’t know how he kept from doing it.

  She’s human and fragile, so calm the fuck down. It calmed his dragon somewhat, allowing him to try to think with a more rational brain.

  Brim kept his eyes trained on Wayne while he turned and scampered away. The woman let out a long breath. From his hold on her shoulders, he felt her shaking. He wanted to pull her into his chest, wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but knew it was not a smart move on his part.

  With great effort, he let his hands fall to his sides. She turned and raised her eyes to his, meeting his gaze head on. She took in a sharp breath, fear and uncertainty flashed in her pale blue gaze.

  He did a quick mental check to make sure the simple magic spell he placed on his eyes before crossing into the Human Realm still held. He was told that having gleaming, red eyes would alert the humans to his...nonhuman status. Instead, they were a ‘normal’ dark brown colour.

  ‘How many have run away from you screaming?’ Slade’s words echoed in brain. He didn’t want this one to run screaming. Oh, he wanted her to scream alright, but from the pleasure he would bring her over and over again.

  She blinked several times.

  “Forgive my interference, but I couldn’t stand by and watch a lady be harmed.”

  A smile tipped up her lips and lit her whole face. Her eyes turned almost dreamy while she stared at him. This was good; she didn’t scream or run, yet.

  “I’m Amber Anderson. What’s your name?”

  “Brimstone, my lady.”

  “Brimstone, just Brimstone?”

  He nodded. “Brimstone the Crusher.” Last names in the Dragon Realm must be earned not given by your sire, unless you were of a noble lineage.

  “That’s a cool name, just like you. Tall and broad. Are they real muscles?” Her gaze fell to his torso. She examined him from head to toe, reached out and took hold of his hand, putting her small, pale one into his large, tanned one, comparing their size difference.

  “Wow, you really are big!”

  He was at a loss, utterly puzzled by her reaction. “You are not afraid of me? Most, hmm…uh, most women are.”

  She shook her head eagerly. “No, you’re amazing, unique, handsome and perfect! Exactly what I need.” She met his gaze again, her eyes gleaming with eager excitement.

  Did she know they are mates? He was told human women didn’t recognize the pair bonding as easily as magical beings. He guessed there was something else going on in her strange, human brain.

  “Brimstone, would you be my new hero?”

  Chapter 2

  The sizzle of energy, like plugging in a rechargeable battery, made Amber shudder for a moment. Her attraction to the big guy was clear, more evident than glowing neon arrows pointing at him to say ‘big hunky guy here, hump him now’. She never thought it was really possible—such bone deep attraction, leaving her stunned like a kangaroo caught in headlights on the highway. Sure, she wrote about sexual, romantic fantasy for a living, but this was beyond anything she imagined.

  Rollercoaster rides had nothing on her roiling emotions. In the past half hour, she went through despair, humiliation, anger and fear. When the big mountain of a man stepped in to rescue her from her now ex-fiancé, she experienced awe, trepidation and exhilaration. Now, it was tinged with a hint of lust. Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She was downright drooling over the seven foot, sexy god of a man.

  Raw sexuality oozed from him in a roughened, tough kind of way. Her palms itched as she took him in. Brimstone Crusher. His parents must have been hippies, or from the middle-ages to give him such a name—not that she cared. It suited the hard looking guy.

  Even by the low lamp lights littering the foreshore of Darwin Harbour, his blue jeans and tight, black t-shirt only helped to make him look more rugged and masculine. She was sure his muscles had muscles. She fought the urge to fan herself, and not from the evening Top End heat of Darwin.

  She dropped his hand and stepped back, realising she pawed at him like a kid wanting to sample an exciting, new candy. His chocolate brown eyes almost glowed in the evening darkness when he stared at her.

  “Your new hero? Who else do you need rescuing from?”

  Good god, his voice was deep, liquid gold. A woman could orgasm from only a few seductive words.

  She felt her cheeks flush crimson. “Oh, gosh, no one, just from myself, somet
imes. Sorry, I kind of get carried away.”

  His dark eyebrow rose. Man, she was so using this. Her fingers itched for a pen and paper. Heck, even better, her laptop back in her room.

  Shouldn’t I be upset after breaking up with my boyfriend of two years, instead of drooling over a complete stranger? She didn’t feel upset, really more relieved it was over.

  Her stomach fell, thinking about her room, her things and…“Oh, crap, Wayne!”

  “He is gone,” Brimstone growled. She watched him in awe while his body stiffened, his eyes scanning the area as if expecting a threat. Wow, again. This man is prime, female, fantasy material.

  “I have to get back to my hotel. If he’s that pissed, he might destroy all my work!”

  If nothing else, she knew Wayne to be spiteful. She spun on her flats to hurry back to the hotel.

  “I will escort you and make sure you come to no harm.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I mean you’ve already put yourself out for me, I’d hate to be a bother.”

  “I thought you wished for me to be your hero.”

  From his tone and intent stare, he was serious.

  “Well, yes, but it was me and my wayward brain not filtering what my mouth tends to blurt out.”

  “You did not mean what you said?” He easily kept stride beside her—more like he had to walk slower to match her hurried, little pace.

  “Yes, I mean no, I mean…you see, I’m a writer and create stories. I think you’d be the perfect hero for my next story.”

  He shoved his hand into his pockets as they walked. It didn’t make him any less than huge and intimidating. Even with his size, buzz-cut short hair, and forehead scrunched in a scowl, she was sure he could make ice cubes in hell, but it was odd; in no way did she feel unsafe or intimidated.

  Heck, he already proved his worth by saving her from dick-weed Wayne. Mind you, she placed much of the blame on herself for letting it go as far as it did. Maybe, she was a little insecure, to try and make something out of a relationship which was fated for failure.

  If not for her persistence, and pushing through the negativity of Wayne’s constant putdowns and his always trying to turn her into someone other than herself, she would have never published the first two of her books.

  She escaped into fantasy through her writing and it helped her cope with the reality of her life, but now, she felt she had finally woken up from a bad nightmare and was taking control of her life. It felt good. Damn good.

  “You’re a storyteller. I admire the abilities of storytellers.”

  “Yes.” She glanced sideways with a grin. “I, uh, write romantic fiction.”

  In reality, she wrote hot, saucy stories with larger than life, alpha men, but admitting it out loud to a big hunky guy? Nuh-huh.

  From experience, she found people either looked down their nose at her, or disregarded her type of writing as unliterary or simply porn, as Wayne did. However, he changed his tune once he saw the colour of the money from her royalty payments. He actually encouraged her to write, proposed marriage, and demanded they go on a winter holiday, up to always sunny Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. They booked several outback tours to see the arid country.

  Porn. She grit her teeth. Cripes, how much she hated the term in reference to what she did. Erotic romance is totally different to erotica. Mind you, most of her sex scenes were drawn from her own concept of how it should be, and hiding away, watching online porn to get the mechanics right.

  Sneaking another glance at her new companion, she couldn’t help wonder if everything was in proportion to his size. What would it feel like to have his large hands running over her body? Being a rounded size sixteen, she was not considered small, but compared to this big guy, she was tiny.

  Research? She felt guilty wanting to use him like this. She didn’t want to lie to him and at the same time she needed to keep a firm grip on reality, which included any rejection, if he decided not to be her research project.

  “Romantic Fiction. It is not something I am familiar with. Is it common in your world?”

  Your world? What does that mean? Oh, he was foreign. It explained the sexy accent and the roll of his tongue when he used an ‘r’ in a word.

  “It's the most popular form of book on the market. Up to eighty-nine percent of sales today are romantic fiction. So, I’m in a good business to make money.”

  Yes, it was a business, but in all truth she loved to get lost in her little worlds.

  “It's how I paid for the holiday with…well, I guess Wayne’s got his money’s worth from me.” She shook her head wanting to think of better things than the loser she dumped. “So, uh, Brimstone, what brings you to Darwin?”

  “I was persuaded to come along by a friend.”

  “Persuaded? You don’t like holidays?” She raised a questioning eyebrow at him with a sideward glance.

  “I’ve never had a holiday. I’d rather be killing something,” Brimstone muttered.

  Amber blinked and a little tremble of fear shimmered down her body. She wasn’t sure how to process his last comment.

  He must have sensed her unease. He reached out, taking possession of her hand in his. His was huge and utterly engulfed her smaller hand.

  “I have never and would never harm a woman. You have to forgive an old solider who has seen too much fighting.”

  Warm tingles raced up her arm from the hand he held, and her fear melted, his words making more sense.

  They reached a set of stairs which led to the Promenade and started to climb. Amber pointed down the street, a little breathless after he helped her up three flights. “My hotel is the one at the end of the Promenade.” He was reluctant to let her go, and she liked the almost possessive way he gripped her hand while they walked.

  “So, uh, where’s your persuasive friend?”

  Brimstone shrugged his massive shoulders. “I left him to his seducing of human females.”

  “Seriously?” She felt her jaw drop again. “Human females? You talk as if you’re not human yourself.”

  His shoulder shrugged with a non-committal answer. “Some days, I don’t feel human.”

  Amber laughed and again relaxed. This man was a complex ride of contradictions. She could only guess he wasn’t used to interacting much with non-military people.

  “Yes, I have days like that, too. Oh, here we are.”

  They stopped outside one of the cheaper Darwin hotels. Walking to the entrance, Brimstone snatched open the front door before she could. She smiled her thanks and hurried in.

  The eyes of the girl behind the desk widened as she gazed up at Brimstone standing behind Amber. No doubt, he got this kind of reaction a lot.

  She read the girl's name tag. “Hi, Suzie, I’m Amber Anderson in room 501. I’ve broken up with my boyfriend and he has the keycard. Is there any way I can have him removed from my room?”

  The woman tore her gaze away from Brimstone. “Miss Stone, I…uh, can get you another card, but we can’t do anything about domestic altercations. The room is in Mr Goolia’s name.”

  “Damn, I forgot about that, and we paid in advance, too! Can I cancel the room and get another?”

  “No.” Brimstone's snapped command made Amber jump. She whirled around and stared at him. “You will come back and stay with me.”

  Her eyes widened, and her stomach dropped at the sudden thought of being alone with this large, somewhat odd man. “I can’t do that, I just met you.”

  “I will get you your own room. Give me her card key.” He pushed his large frame over the desk, his hand out, the silent demand clear.

  Suzie obediently handed over the bit of black plastic.

  “Come, we will gather your belongings. Suzie, call us a taxi.”

  “Uh, yes sir.” The woman quickly picked up the phone.

  Amber blinked as the world spun at breakneck speed. With a firm hold on her hand, Brimstone tugged her towards the elevator. The door opened and he pulled her inside.
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  He fought a losing battle. The moment he got her into the small, confined space, a little more of his human persona and civility slipped with the need to take and claim his little, blue-eyed mate.

  Her pale skin, parted pink lips, and fire in her gaze drew him under, like under a powerful spell.

  “Look, Brimstone, I don’t know who you think—” He stepped in closer, crowding her into the corner, his hand by her shoulder keeping her contained, not as if there was anywhere to go in a small elevator.

  “You like me.”

  Her eyes widened, making a face saying, ‘Yeah, so?’ “And?”

  “I like you. I want you and I want to fuck you.”

  Brimstone wanted to slam himself over the head with his own tail when the words came out of his mouth. Damn dragon balls! Is it too much for my big dumb brain to ask for a little subtlety? He didn’t want to scare her away, and he was doing a damn, good job of fucking it all up.

  Her mouth opened, and then slammed shut with a hiss. The elevator door dinged and slid open. She ducked under his arm, exiting the elevator, muttering, “Men suck.”

  He followed after her down the hall, watching the fantastic sway of her ass while she stomped towards her room. Brim wondered how else he could fuck this up. He couldn’t. There was no possible way he could screw this up further, so he had nothing to lose.

  Running on pure instinct, he grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. He swung her around and lifted her, so her feet dangled, and pushed her back against the wall next to the door marked 501. His chest mashed the softness of her breasts. Damn, she was soft everywhere.

  Before she could so much as squeak indignantly, his lips were on hers. The soft, silky warmth of her lips made him groan. He never tasted something so fucking good. He pushed into her mouth with an insistent tongue, and squeezed her arse with his free hand, keeping her pinned with his upper torso.

  It was not a soft kiss, or particularly tender—he plundered and possessed, nipping with his teeth, and then soothing with a hot tongue.

  Gods, he almost came on the spot when she moaned and kissed him back, her tongue entwining with his, pushing back into his mouth. Hands on her arse, he hoisted her up so the junction of her thighs rubbed against his harder-than-granite shaft, trying to grind through their layers of clothing.