Dragon Around Read Online Free Page B

to remain perky, but it was difficult.
    Upstairs, her guests had left destroyed bedding and strewn mattresses. She applied her mind to changing the rooms around while she finished cleaning up the crumbs from breakfast. It was a reflex born of long practice and not something that most of her guests witnessed. Her mind only worked its magic in unoccupied rooms, but she could turn one over in five minutes if the bed hadn’t been clawed into fluff. That would take an extra few minutes as she opened the cupboard in the hall and levitated the new one in and the old one out into the drop chute in the floor. Dragging them up and down the stairs just wasn’t practical, so she always kept a few spares on hand for emergencies.
    The morning diners had been a little on the sloppy side, so she folded up the tablecloth and dropped it into the laundry pile. That was her afternoon all arranged.
    Mak watched her for a moment before he left her alone.
    Dira breathed easy when he exited her territory. Having him at close range was pressure on her self-control. She wanted him, there was no doubt about that, but his interest was overwhelming.
    Part of her wanted him to sweep her away with his hair ruffling in the breeze and the other part of her was dead set against leaving her territory, her horde and her life.
    Her horde was her collection of her favourite items. It was filled with gold, paintings of herself and lovely, embroidered fabrics that had stopped being manufactured hundreds of years earlier.
    The fascination with her own image was not something she was proud of. She had asked another dragon about it once, and she had informed Dira that it was natural. They could see their own magnificence in every image, and it raised their heads high. They had a lot to be proud of.
    Dira hummed as she went about her tasks, got the laundry going and incinerated the destroyed mattress. Controlled burns were now her speciality. The constant baking helped immensely. She loved being able to hold a temperature long enough to properly cook muffins, bread, biscuits and even bacon.
    With an eye to afternoon visitors, she made a batch of scones and warmed a pot of strawberry preserves. Her clotted cream was ready, as always, and she put out the teapot, ready to go.
    She had no sooner prepped everything than she heard a familiar voice. “Dira? Are you up for a visitor?”
    “Of course. Come on in.” She took out a starched and folded tablecloth and flicked it over the round table that monopolised her dining room.
    The morning shift from the café was gathered, and they all wanted to sit and giggle about the unicorn in their midst. Most of the girls were beavers, and they really enjoyed their time at the B and B. Dira brought in the scones, the jam and the fresh pot of tea while one of the girls headed to the kitchen to get the teacups and saucers.
    When they were all settled, every female face turned toward Dira, and Kayla the hummingbird asked, “So, what do you know about Mak?”
     
    * * * *
     
    It wasn’t an emergency, but Tony let Mak use his private line to call his mother. The whole situation was ridiculous, and it got worse when his mother squealed with excitement. “Do I have a new daughter-in-law?”
    “Mom, calm down. No. Not yet. I have found a woman I am interested in, but there is a problem.”
    “What is it? Can’t you just charm her?”
    “No, I can’t. That is why I want her. She doesn’t put up with anything. The problem is that I don’t know what she is and that seems to be a barrier to courtship.”
    His mother was suddenly all business. “Is she a standard shifter?”
    “No, she is powerful, very, very powerful.”
    “What have you noticed about her?”
    “She has long black hair, green eyes that turn gold and the pupils change shape to something familiar, but I can’t place it. Oh, and she snorts fire when she really laughs.”
    His mother was silent for a moment. “Fire? She snorts fire and you don’t know what she