Dragons' Bond (4 page)

“Okay.” She nodded and walked quickly up the stairs, all three men right behind her. She flicked the lights on in her living room and flopped onto the couch, breathing a little faster than normal, whether from excitement, fear, or simply from hurrying up the four flights of stairs, she wasn’t sure. “Explanations, please.”

“We’ll answer all your questions until you’re perfectly satisfied with everything we say. But before we speak, can you please tell me where you put Crevan, Daegan, Graegor, and Penllyn. It may be important,” said Angus.

“Who? Oh, wait. Are those the names of the four small oak dragons? The ones I haven’t been able to find provenances for yet?”

“Weren’t they in the trunk I showed you?” asked William.

“It took me all afternoon to do your paperwork. I haven’t had time to look yet,” she replied.

“We can go look later tonight if you want. But what about the oak dragons? Where are they?” repeated Angus.

“I put them in the storeroom with two other statues I haven’t found the paperwork for. I’m hoping that I’ll find it as I work on other pieces of art, which will save me time looking any farther. I have a deadline to get everything ready for the catalog, so I don’t want to take too long on any one piece, especially when its papers may simply have been misfiled, and I’ll find them later anyway.”

“Yes, that makes sense. We’re asking because we don’t want them to be able to overhear us speaking to you. We don’t think they have powers of mental telepathy, but this would be a really bad time to find out they actually do,” added Angus.

“This feels like I’ve walked into the middle of a movie. Or likely I really am dreaming. What say you all sit down and start explaining what’s going on from the beginning?”

Mallory had always thought her living room was quite a comfortable size, until three big men settled into it. Mark sat on the couch beside her, and William and Angus each took one of her armchairs, turning them around to face her. Even with the coffee table between her and them, the room seemed to be overfull of large males. Not to mention that they were all still totally naked.

“So you’re shape-shifting statues. Why did you shift tonight?”

“I thought you wanted us to start at the beginning,” complained Mark.

Mallory sighed. “Yes, fine, but let’s start with the brief version, and if I still don’t understand, then we’ll move on to the detailed version.”

“We aren’t just shape-shifting statues. We’re shape-shifting dragons. Dragons live about five hundred years and need to have distinct rest periods, which is why we rest in statue form.”

Predictably it was Angus talking. He seemed to be their leader.

“This museum has been our home for over ten years, although we also had an apartment where we kept clothing and our human things. The previous owner of The Magic Dragon Museum, Mr. Tanner, was very old and liked to keep his memories of former days intact. He didn’t want anything here to change, and he was rich enough not to need income from the museum, so it was perfect for us.”

“That explains the museum’s name, and why you have keys to it, but why haven’t you moved at all in the past three months? Why tonight?”

“Teivel was blocking the portal. Or Teivel with the help of Crevan, Daegan, Graegor, and Penllyn. Oak is the gateway between worlds in Celtic mythology, and they’re all Celtic dragons. Teivel wants to use the dragons here as hired thugs to steal artworks and jewelry. Put a dragon statue in a building or art gallery in an exhibition, and at the right time, the dragon shape-shifts, steals something very valuable, passes it on to Teivel, then changes back to statue form. It’s the perfect crime,” said Mark.

“Whoa, back up a little. Who’s Teivel? And how many other statues here are also shape-shifters?”

Angus answered her. “Teivel is a very respected art dealer who is one of the new directors of this museum. He also has very flexible morals when it comes to the provenance of artworks.”

“Yeah, his collection dates back to Nazi Germany,” interjected William.

“As for other dragons who shape-shift, we aren’t sure, but Crevan, Daegan, Graegor, and Penllyn are definitely shape-shifters, and it’s quite possible there are more of us. The museum’s name is not a coincidence, and you mentioned two other statues you’d already found without paperwork.”

“Yes, but you all had your paperwork, so isn’t it possible there’s lots more of you.”

“Not lots, no,” said William thoughtfully. “There really aren’t all that many dragons in the world. Besides, we three have been together for over a hundred years, and we’ve made very sure all our finances and paperwork, both for our human life and our stone formations, are correct.”

“And others haven’t bothered about getting their paperwork organized? Why didn’t you want the oak dragons to hear you talking? And what were you saying about mental telepathy? Can you all mind talk?”

“Teivel has been working with the four oak dragons. We don’t know whether they’re helping him willingly, or if he has some hold over them, or what exactly is happening, but we aren’t prepared to take any risks. Certainly they were blocking the portal, and it wasn’t until you moved them that we were freed,” said Angus.

“Although it’s possible you cleaning us helped, too. We aren’t sure about that,” added Mark.

“Tomorrow we’ll go and access our lockbox in the bank so we can start living as humans again. As soon as we have clothes and money, we need to change all the locks in the museum, because I bet Teivel has keys to everything.”

That was Angus being bossy again, but suddenly it was all too much for Mallory. The whole situation seemed totally unreal. Three men in her bed who were shape-shifting dragon statues, plus an evil art dealer coordinating a team of untraceable art thieves. “I’m too tired to think anymore. I’m going to bed.”

“We’ll come with you.”

* * * *

Mallory was deeply asleep, and William, Mark, and Angus took turns watching over her as they planned all the things they needed to do in the next few days, while staying as invisible as possible and certainly not attracting any attention that might get back to Teivel.

“I think I’ll go look in the storeroom on this floor to see if that box of clothing we left here is still there. I expect it is, and it’ll make getting to the bank tomorrow much easier. The clothing will be a little old-fashioned, but at least it’ll fit us, which Mallory’s clothing most certainly won’t.”

“I’ll come with you, Mark, and we can see if the trunk of papers is there, too, and put it in Mallory’s office for her. You’ll stay with her, William?”

“Yes. I don’t think she’ll stir. She’s totally exhausted, poor little thing. It’s been quite a change for her, meeting us and having sex with all of us. Both the mental and physical challenges have been enormous for her and very unexpected.”

“That’s true. When we get back, we’d better have a meal. We’ll have been in human form too long not to eat and drink,” added Mark.

“I’ll see what food she has in the kitchen while you’re gone. We can shop tomorrow for her if we use too many of her supplies,” said William.

“Don’t leave her alone for too long though,” cautioned Angus.

“I won’t. I know she’s in danger now that she’s seen us. Of course she probably always was in danger. But at least we can protect her now.”

William let his hands drift through her long, dark hair. It was fuzzy and tangled from having been wet and never brushed, but it was still beautiful. Thick and lustrous, and he loved the way it curled wildly this way and that. He loved her breasts, too. Rich, lush globes that filled his hands to overflowing. Then there were her hips, rounded and womanly, her belly almost but not quite flat. Another womanly sign he liked. He preferred a woman with curves, and Mallory had the most delightful curves he’d seen in a very long time.

William bent forward and softly kissed her forehead, watching to ensure she didn’t open her eyes—hazel with amber flecks in them—then walked into the kitchen to see about a meal. They were big men and needed a solid meal to prepare them for the next few days, which were certain to be hectic and dangerous. William looked in the refrigerator. There were two eggs, a sad-looking half-bunch of celery, a tomato, a carrot, and an apple. In the freezer was a single, small steak, a bag of frozen peas with less than a handful remaining in it, and two slices of bread.

Shaking his head, William opened her cupboards. Plates, bowls, cups, saucepans, plastic containers, a range of spices, a bottle of ketchup, and less than half a pound of pasta. “Don’t you ever shop, woman,” he complained. Then he stopped to think. No she didn’t. In fact, she hardly ever left the museum. She worked from dawn until dusk, totally concentrating on her job. Even when she relaxed, it wasn’t at a movie or a party. It was in the roof garden. The last time she’d left the building had to be, oh, two, likely even three weeks ago. No wonder she had no food left. Well, they’d just have to shop for her.

William went back and checked she was still soundly asleep, then put the pasta on to boil and chopped the few vegetables and the steak. While he browned the meat in a pan and looked through her spices to choose which ones to use, his brain was working away at the problem.
She’s quite young to have such a responsible job, to be in charge of a museum, even as small a one as this. I wonder if Teivel had a hand in furthering her application. Or even worked against other applicants. That’s something we should check
.

William stood still for a long moment, his hand holding a spoon poised in the air.
You know that would explain everything. She would be the obvious fall guy when attention came on the museum as the source of the thefts. One of our exhibits would be present at the site of every burglary, and since she’s the only paid staff member…
He nodded briskly then returned to his cooking. “Damn straight. I bet that’s what Teivel had planned all along!”

Standing in the doorway, watching Mallory sleep, William was overwhelmed by an urgent belief that it was up to him to protect her. Logic insisted that the three of them could do it as a team, but the message hammering into his head, his heart, his very soul, was that it was his duty, and his alone, to protect her from Teivel and his minions. Softly, William stepped into the room and moved over to the bed. He laid one hand on his heart and the other on her head. “I promise to protect you with all my being, to the death if that’s what’s required of me,” he whispered solemnly.

“I hope to hell it won’t come to that, but I’m at your disposal. I will be your second in this,” said Mark. He walked to the bed and laid one hand on Mallory’s shoulder and the other on William’s. “I give you my protection, too. My life is yours.”

“How can I offer anything less? We’re a team. Whatever is required of me, I will do,” said Angus, joining the others around Mallory’s sleeping form.

The solemn covenant made, all three shook hands then moved out into the kitchen, where William rushed to stir their meal. Quickly, he served it onto three plates and poured the coffee he’d prepared. Black, of course. Mallory either didn’t drink milk or she’d run out.

“I’m guessing a trip to the store is one of our first jobs tomorrow,” said Mark, scooping about a quarter of his meal into his mouth in one sweep.

“Yeah. Apart from two slices of bread and two eggs for breakfast to share between the four of us tomorrow, this was everything she had. Oh, and an apple,” said William. Then he explained his thoughts about how Mallory had gotten her job. He concluded saying, “I think she’s so focused on proving herself worthy of the responsibilities, and exceeding her deadlines and expectations, that she’s stopped doing everything else, including buying food.”

“That makes sense,” said Angus, scraping his plate clean. “I can see Teivel manipulating the applicants for the job, ensuring the one that suited him best got it. I’ll just bet he was one of the panel who interviewed her, too. And your suggestion that Teivel plans to make her the chief suspect, if not the one who is convicted of the thefts, is downright wicked, but sounds exactly like Teivel. So we not only have to prevent Teivel carrying out any thefts, we have to protect Mallory at all times, make sure she always has an unshakable alibi, keep watch over Crevan, Daegan, Graegor, and Penllyn, and find out what has happened to all our human resources while we have been trapped here. Just a few minor tasks.” Sarcasm was evident in Angus’s voice.

“But not until we’ve shopped for food, condoms, and new locks. Teivel will have keys to everything, and changing all the locks is the best way to start thwarting him. Mallory will need to have a perfectly good reason to do that though, or he’ll be suspicious,” warned Mark.

“Absolutely, and not a reason that will have Teivel thinking about us.”

Mark cleared the plates from the table and took them to the sink, running water to rinse them.