Chapter 1

   ~IRENE~

"Dragon bones?"

I wanted him to toss it as a joke, but the fact that Larry's face was devoid of even the tiniest hint of a smile told me otherwise.

"Yes Irene, you heard right." His steel blue eyes narrowed, focusing on the door in front of us.

"But how?"

The old mumbled something incoherent as he struggled to get the key into the lock. Straining my ears towards his direction, I picked out words about 'old age' and I rolled my eyes.

"Let me get those." I swiped the bunch of keys from him and slotted one of them in. A few seconds was all it took, and the door opened.

"Thank you," he muttered under his breath as we both walked in.

"But still...dragon bones?" I gently scratched my cheek with an index finger. "I'm still trying to process this. Are you sure your friend got the information right?"

"Of course!" Pausing in his steps, he spun around with a questioning gaze directed at me. "Irene, Dr. Crockwell is not a quack. You of all people should know that, having done a research on one of his works in your third year at the university. Don't forget this man has been working in this field far longer than I have."

"Yeah, I know that." I held back a groan, not wanting to be reminded of one of the most tedious researches I've ever done in my life.

Multiple knocks were on the door and Larry glanced towards it.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and Connor, my giant of a best friend, walked in. I swear he could fit the entire doorway. I didn't know how he didn't go for a different career like bodybuilding. Being a paleontologist like myself and Larry didn't seem to suit him.

 "Irene?" Spotting me, his deep grey eyes reflected surprise, before he directed his gaze to the elderly man.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" His Russian accent was something I could never get tired of hearing. It was so unique. Maybe it was how easy it rolled off his tongue.

"Ah yes, Connor. " Mr. Wesley nodded slowly, then he pointed to a large vault at the far corner of the office. "Your strength is needed here. Let's move that to the store room."

"Ha! That is an easy task, sir." Connor folded his arms, displaying his large biceps. "You do not need to stress yourself. It's a big piece of cake for me."

"If you say so." Relief reflected in the older man's eyes as he quickly took his seat, while Connor advanced towards the vault. True to his words, he lifted the large object with ease and proceeded towards the store room. Kicking the door open without breaking a sweat, he dropped the vault and walked out, dusting his palms. His eyes flashed with pride towards my direction.

"Show off." An eye roll was given to him in return.

"Will that be all, sir? " Connor ignored my jab, glancing towards the old man who was focused on the laptop in front of him.

"What?" Larry swiftly lifted his head as if from a trance. "No, that won't be all."

"Yeah, there's something Larry wants you to see." I elbowed Connor with a smile dancing on my lips.

Larry threw a small glare towards my direction for a split second, before he turned to Connor.

"I was telling Irene about the news from my colleague." He adjusted his glasses. "Dr. Crockwell. You know him, right?"

Connor nodded.

"He has come upon a discovery which I think will be beneficial to all of us and the university," Larry resumed. "A location containing dragon bones has been found."

"Dragon bones?" Connor's suddenly dopey looking face was so comical that I nearly lost my reserve. "Dragon? As in komodo dragon?"

Ah, fuck it. 

I couldn't take it anymore. I clutched my waist as I bent down and gave into the laughter. 

"Irene!" 

I swiftly looked up into the fiery gaze of the senior paleontologist and quickly straightened up.

"Sorry." I wiped my hands against my shorts, my lips still twitching in amusement.

"Not komodo dragon, Connor." Larry glanced to my large friend. "I mean a dragon."

"Dragon, dragon?" Connor's eyes widened. "As in those things that breath fire?"

"Yes." Larry nodded.

Connor's disbelieving gaze focused on Larry, then to me, and finally back to the former.

 I glanced at Larry with a knowing smile as if to say, 'I told you so.'

"Oh, so you both think this is amusing?" His face hardening by a glare, his hand reached for the laptop. "Let's see if you still laugh at this."

He spun it around.

Immediately all traces of humor left my face. Displayed on the screen was the diagram of a map. The map was ancient, judging by the torn edges. My eyes widened at the diagram beside it. Larry was not lying. It was a large dragon skeleton. Everything was detailed. From the head, to the tail and even the large wings.

"H...how?" I whispered. 

I never got an answer as my heart suddenly began to beat at an abnormal rate. The room seemed to spin and I stumbled back.

"Irene!" Connor and Larry cried out simultaneously.

I fell into Connor's arms as the blurry image of Larry rose from his seat and swiftly rushed towards me. Their voices seemed to drift away. Whiteness filled my vision.

                               

                               ~~~~~~~

The floor vibrated beneath my feet and I opened my eyes. 

"What the hell?" I whispered.

I was no longer in the office. Instead I was in what looked like a wasteland. Lots of bones were scattered around. I backed away but footsteps approached me. Glancing around, I spotted a group of soldiers rushing towards me. Their screams of war the only thing that frightened me from their strange appearances. Their battle armor was definitely ancient and so we're their weapons.

As they seeming approached my direction, I put up my hands to shield myself but to my surprise they phased through me.

"Take it down!" I heard behind me. "Assist the King!"

Spinning around, i spotted a strange large creature battling two black dragons. The large grey creature had black deadly eyes and numerous spikes at the back of it's head and the sides of it's legs. It's eyes flashed with fury towards the draconian duo. A third black dragon stood at the creatures feet, breathing fire against it's belly. The remaining soldiers hurled their weapons against it. 

It was all futile.

The creature gave a loud roar that had me clutching at my ears and shutting my eyes tight. Moments later, I heard a different roar.This time a roar of pain. And this time it was not from the creature. 

One of the black dragons came crashing towards my direction. It phased though me and landed on the ground, the impact of the crash lifting me. My hands flew to my mouth when the dust settled.

The dragon was the one at the feet of the large creature. It had been impaled from one of the spikes of the creature. It's dying red eyes was seemingly focused on me. For a moment, all fear left me and I felt a strange connection. I slowly reached towards the snout of the reptile and paused when I heard two roars behind me. I spun around to the battle. The other two dragons had sent a huge ball of fire towards the grey creature. Then the whiteness filled my vision again.

                           ~~~~~~~

"Irene!"

I opened my eyes and blinked. I was back in the office and in Connor's arms. The worried faces of my muscular friend and Larry hovered over mine.

"Hey." I weakly cracked a smile.

"Thank goodness." Larry's old face broke out into a rare smile of relief. "By Curvier's hands, you gave us a scare. What happened?"

"I...I don't know." I took a deep breath as Connor helped me to my feet. "Just a strange minor dizziness."

Larry's gaze flickered between my face and the laptop on the table, his eyes narrowing a bit.

"Are you sure?" he said. 

"Yes." I nodded. 

Connor raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Seriously, I'm okay." I punched his arm lightly with a soft laugh. "Don't you go all soft on me."

"You should go home and rest," Larry said. He approached the table and shut down the laptop.

"Yes," Connor added.

I didn't bother to argue. My head was still spinning.

"Alright." I nodded, walking outside and shutting the door behind me.

                           

                                  ************

The strange heat that hugged my body like a second article of clothing made my eyes flutter open. And after blinking the sleepiness away, they widened.

"What the f..." I couldn't find the courage to complete the words.

If the vision of finding myself in a battlefield earlier in the day wasn't disturbing enough, this one was.

I wasn't in my bed anymore. I was in a desert. It was nighttime and the half moon reflected on the pool of water before me.

"An oasis?" My heard corked to the side. I didn't know what else to think again but these sudden visions better have an explanation. The only thing I could think of that started this whole fiasco was staring at that diagram in the office. But how did such harmless action lead to all of these?

Ripples formed in the pool, bringing my attention back to it. From the ripples, the head of someone slowly rose out of the water. My mouth felt dry and my heart thundered against my chest. Rooted to the spot, I lacked the will to move. 

Slowly, the person emerged and stood at the banks and the fright vanished from my body, replaced with a feeling I couldn't place my hands on.

Standing in front of me was a man. The moonlight didn't remove the shadow that shielded the top half of his face, leaving me with only a view of a straight nose and red lips.

 However, I could see two glowing red dots from where his eyes were meant to be. I would have screamed at that moment and took off. But instead, I remained as still as a statue for a new reason that had my insides churning.

The strange man walking towards me was naked.

I swallowed a lump as my eyes scanned every inch of his muscular body. From his thick neck to the large twin pectorals that seemingly doubled Connor's, to his well form abs, to his...

'Oh my.' 

My gaze finally settled on what hung between his legs.

'How the hell can he walk around with that thing!' My inner voice screamed with a mixture of shock and a strange desire that had me clenching my thighs together 

The man stopped before me and yet I couldn't still see anything besides his lips. Lips that I wanted to do unimaginable things to me.

I quickly shook my head and averted my gaze. No, I must be out of my mind. 

His index finger, strangely warm, settled under my chin, tilting my head and slowly forcing my gaze to him. The glowing red irises did not seem so scary anymore. Without a word, he leaned downwards and claimed my lips.

 The contact of his warm lips against mine sucked away any lingering fear that I had left. Instead it seemed to inject a new dose of submission to my body. His hand caressed my face and then my neck. By the time it reached my left breast and cupped it gently, I was treated to a new dose of reality that made my eyes widen.

I was just as naked as he was. 

I would have screamed in terror if my lips wasn't occupied. How did I not notice this since? He gently twisted my nipple and my lips parted to release a moan. That chance was all he took to claim my tongue, sucking it like he would to my nipple if he wanted to try.

'Goddamn, this guy is good,' I thought. 'Whoever he is.'

He detached himself from my tongue, planting soft kisses to my cheeks and then to my neck. He sucked on my jugular and then drifted to my shoulders, kissing the goosebumps that formed there. Before I could say anything, his lips had moved to my right breast, latching on to my nipple.

'Oh, fuck!' Again, I couldn't find the strength to scream my pleasure. I was still restricted to inner thoughts.

As he took his sweet time sucking on my nipple, I clutched at his hair, pulling him closer, encouraging him to ravage me as much as he liked. He switched to my other breast, giving it equal treatment. If I ever woke up from this, I would give my head a wobble. But as for now, I was going to milk this as much as I could.

His lips detached from my breast and he raised his head up to look at me. Coming down from my exhilarated breathing, it was still frustrating how I couldn't see his face fully.

"Who...Who are you?" To my surprise, I finally found my voice.

Those red irises reflected a twinge of sadness as a response. He slowly cupped my cheek and his finger slid across it. Relishing that warm touch, I shut my eyes.

He pulled away and my eyes flew open immediately. A hint of a smile formed on his lips. He spun around and walked away towards the pool, treating me to a delightful view of his muscular butt.

The last thing I saw before my vision faded was the hint of hope in his eyes as he descended into the water.