Chapter 3 Mr. Dragon, Probe Master
MR. DRAGON, PROBE MASTER
Wow.
So.
This was unexpected.
Ottis tried not to shriek as the dragon carried him up and up, away from home.
Well, this was one way to put some distance between himself and his brothers.
Except the highway looked extremely tiny, suddenly. Wind whipped through his hair, loud in his ears.
“Mr. Dragon, Probe Master!” Ottis said, so he would stop thinking about how high up they were.
The dragon froze, so surprised that he stopped flying completely. They dropped a few feet—Ottis shrieked—before those wings beat again to regain their altitude.
“Wh-what did you say?” the dragon said in a strangled voice.
“Probe Master. That’s your name on the kidnap contract.”
“... Fuck. Hell. He’s never going to stop calling me that,” the dragon groaned.
“I won’t call you that,” Ottis said quickly. “It sounds really weird.”
“I meant my butler. He... loves those nicknames.”
“Oh.” Ottis remembered the unhinged butler antics that his new friends had told him about, and winced in sympathy. “So... You don’t probe people?”
“Well... I do. But that’s not all I do at my day job!” the dragon said hurriedly.
“Hang on. You’re a professional prober? Do people just go up to you and ask you to probe them?”
Another strangled sound. “My job requires exams and board certification. I—”
“For ass probing?!”
“That’s not all I do!”
“What else do you probe?” Ottis whispered, horrified and fascinated.
“I’m a doctor.”
“... Oh.” Embarrassment burned through his face with the heat of a thousand suns. Then Ottis’ mouth betrayed him. “Are you going to probe me too?”
The dragon choked. Then he growled. “If you’ll allow me to, yes.”
“With, uh, with your fingers? Like in your day job?” Ottis shivered. The dragon was very warm, his scaly chest solid. Somehow, he felt safe.
If the dragon had managed to hire a Butler Brother, then he couldn’t be that bad of a person.
“I’ll probe you any way you let me,” the dragon murmured.
“Maybe not with your dragon rod. I mean, with your size as it is, you might be... too big. No offense.”
The dragon rumbled, the sound vibrating through Ottis. “Not that, yes. But with everything else.”
“You’ll have to let me see your human shape.”
The dragon tensed against him. It was barely perceptible, just a twitch in his arms.
“We’ll see about that,” the dragon said stiffly.
There was more to that answer. But now was probably not a good time to... probe. He snorted a little, then groaned when he realized how rude he sounded. “Sorry, I was laughing at myself. Not you.”
The dragon glanced down at him. “What were you laughing about?”
“You seemed uncomfortable. I told myself not to probe.”
A beat of silence passed. Then the dragon began to laugh, loud rumbles that shook through Ottis and made his wolf shiver.
“You’re perfect,” the dragon said, doing a half-roll to change directions. “I’m bringing you home.”
The dragon lived in a mansion. Of course he did.
They flew into Cartfalls and landed in a sprawling, enclosed backyard, with a swimming pool next to a tall hedge and flowering bushes surrounding a neat lawn.
Closer to the mansion, fancy chairs surrounded a cobblestone fire pit, but somehow, it felt a little too impersonal.
As though the dragon didn’t spend much of his time out here.
That was okay, though. This was plenty of space for Ottis to stretch his legs.
“You live here,” Ottis blurted, secretly glad that they were back on solid ground.
The dragon set him on his feet. Marcie peeked out of her chest carrier.
“I do. This is my lair.” The dragon lifted one large leathery wing to gesture at the two-story mansion behind them.
Soft golden lights lit up the building’s exterior. Large glass windows spanned the second floor, and on one side of the mansion, slabs of hewn rock made up the first-story wall. There were no windows in that wall.
“What’s that?” Ottis asked.
The dragon followed his gaze. “Ah. You’re not allowed there.”
Ottis coughed. “You know that’s just putting a huge neon sign on it, right? It’s like you want to draw my attention to the forbidden fruit.”
The dragon coughed. “I promise there’s nothing to see there.”
“Totally not suspicious at all,” Ottis said agreeably.
The dragon’s fangs flashed in a smile.
Actually, now that he was fully lit by the mansion’s outdoor lighting, Ottis realized that the dragon’s snout looked strange.
The scales there were... crumpled. Darkened.
Unlike the smooth, iridescent gold of his other scales, the dragon’s snout looked as though it had been burned or chewed up, maybe even splashed with acid.
Ottis scanned the rest of the dragon’s body, finding other patches of scales afflicted with the same thing. Some of them were ruined in tiny patches, others were large swaths of crumpled scales.
The dragon noticed him staring. He drew himself up, eyes narrowed. “Did you decide not to sign the contract, after all?”
Ottis jerked his head up. “What? I didn’t say that.”
But the dragon sounded a tiny bit worried, so Ottis unfolded the singed paper and clicked his pen. He read the kidnapping terms again.
By signing this contract, you hereby agree that the Probe Master will be allowed to probe your body. Circle one: I agree./I disagree.
State any restrictions here:
You also agree that the Probe Master will be allowed to deposit his love juices inside you (I agree./I disagree.) and knot you for an extended period of time. (I agree./I disagree.)
“Th-This is very explicit,” Ottis said breathlessly. But he was already circling: I agree. No restrictions. I agree. I agree.
“Mmm,” the dragon rumbled, watching him scribble. “Good.”
Ottis’ circles were shaky because this was only one sheet of paper, and he didn’t have any solid backing to write on. “I need to fill out the rest on something solid.”
The dragon smiled and brought his head closer. “I’m very solid.”
Ottis glanced down the dragon’s body and decided not to ask if his cock was tucked away in that raised, scaly slit between his legs. Instead, he flattened the piece of paper against the dragon’s chest, warmth soaking through the contract into his hands.
He printed his name and signed on the dotted line. As the dragon breathed, Ottis’ hands rose and fell along with his chest. “So... I’m officially kidnapped?”
“Yes,” the dragon purred, tugging the contract out from under Ottis’ hands, so he was left holding onto the dragon’s scaly chest. “You have promised not to tell anyone of your kidnapping. But you may tell concerned parties that you are in a good place. I will be unlocking your phone to check your messages. And I shall do this at any time I desire, with you pinned under me. Possibly while I’m buried inside you. ”
He was merely repeating the contract terms that Ottis had agreed to. But the promise in his voice made Ottis grow hot.
“S-sure. I should, um, put Marcie down i-if you want to get anything started,” Ottis said breathlessly. “Do you have space for her?”
“Of course. Hijinks!”
“Probe Master!” someone yelled inside the mansion.
The back doors burst open, only for a heavy-set butler to come bouncing out.
Hijinks had a handlebar mustache and shaggy blond hair, and he was wrapped in a pastel rainbow suit.
His gaze snapped to the sheet of paper in the dragon’s paw.
“Oh! You’ve got your contract signed. You’re officially a kidnapper! ”
“I will do nefarious things,” the dragon agreed. “Consensually.”
That sent another shiver down Ottis’ spine.
“Let me show you the nursery,” the dragon said. He turned and headed through the huge backdoor, thumping through the spacious mansion. Hijinks tugged the contract out of the dragon’s paw and disappeared.
Slowly, Ottis followed the dragon. He tried not to limp, but it was difficult. The scars on his calf pulled with every step, and despite his best efforts to walk evenly, there was still a slight limp.
The dragon didn’t respond to the odd rhythm of his gait though, so Ottis held his breath and hoped his limping wasn’t a deal breaker.
As they moved through the mansion, Ottis couldn’t help staring at everything around them.
The potted plants in the corners, the shiny armor and shields hanging on the walls.
They passed several wide doors and giant couches.
Those were crazy to behold on their own, but next to the huge dragon, they made sense.
After they had climbed the stairs to the second level, the dragon looked over his shoulder at Ottis, sweeping his red gaze from the top of Ottis’ head all the way to his feet.
Ottis froze to hide his limp. “So, why did you agree to be kidnapped?”
Nope, Ottis wasn’t talking about Sevrian right now. He shrugged. “I was planning to walk to the nearest town, maybe scrounge up some money there for a place to stay.”
The dragon frowned. “Do you have enough money for a motel?”
“Maybe for a night or two.”
“What were you planning to do after that?”
Ottis shrugged. “Maybe camp out in the woods, or try to make money somehow. It’s okay. I’ve done it before.”
The dragon looked horrified. “Oh no. You won’t be wandering out there penniless with a tiny lil backpack and a baby. You’re staying with me now. Officially kidnapped.”
That made the dragon smile to himself, pleased.
He was... kind of adorable, in a way Ottis hadn’t expected.
The dragon waved for Ottis to follow him down the hallway. More shields decorated these walls, some battle-worn, others bright and shiny. The hallway fit the dragon so well that Ottis realized this place had been built with his size in mind.
How rich did a dragon have to be, to have a mansion custom-built for him?
He didn’t have time to ponder the question. The dragon stopped by an open door with a light on inside.
It was a nursery. Pastel walls, a changing station, some dressers, and even a few stuffed toys and squashy beanbag chairs along the walls. A crib stood in the middle of the room, with a colorful mobile hanging over it.
Ottis blinked. “Did you already have all this in place?”
“My minion set it up when you arrived,” the dragon said proudly. “Is the nursery to your satisfaction?”
“Yes, but... you didn’t even tell him there was a baby.”
“He’s a shapeshifter. He heard your heartbeats.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ottis would’ve heard the heartbeats too; it was just strange, thinking about other species with abilities like his own.
He stepped carefully into the nursery, feeling out of place. For Hijinks to get the room ready in barely any time at all, it meant that these things had already been in the mansion. All of it smelled unused. They weren’t new though, with the dust motes floating in the air.
The fact that the dragon had a nursery in his mansion... It was telling.
Ottis swallowed, detaching the mobile from the crib. “Marcie’s learning how to stand. Best if she doesn’t try to grab the mobile. She’ll destroy it and endanger herself.”
“Gotcha.”
Ottis set aside the mobile and unstrapped Marcie from her chest carrier. He pulled up his shirt and let her latch onto a nipple.
The dragon watched them keenly. Then he leaned closer and sniffed, only to grow still when Marcie turned to look at him.
“Is she going to cry?” the dragon asked warily.
“She’s never seen a dragon before.” Ottis glanced at Marcie, who was looking between him and the dragon. “If you want to shift back...”
“Oh, milk.” The dragon slid a warm, curved claw up Ottis’ chest, gathering the milk that was leaking from his other nipple. He brought it to his snout and sniffed, then dragged his thick pink tongue over his dripping claw. His eyes fluttered shut. “Mmm.”
Ottis flushed bright red. “What’re you doing?!”
“Tasting you.” The dragon caught another trickle of milk, sliding the smooth curve of his claw up Ottis’ chest. He stopped an inch before it touched Ottis’ nipple. “You’re sweet.” He licked his claw again.
Ottis was not imagining that big tongue on himself. Not right now, anyway. “L-Let me feed Marcie first. When she’s asleep, you can do whatever you want with me.”
The dragon’s attention snapped back onto him. “Oh?”
“I promise.”
The dragon retreated to the other side of the nursery, but he continued to watch them avidly. Ottis’ skin prickled; his heart thumped.
“I’m going to need some soft food,” he said. “Things like meat, eggs, bananas, yogurt, sweet potatoes. Marcie’s teething and I’m transitioning her to solid food.”
“I’ll have Hijinks put them on the grocery list.”
“Thank you.” Actually, this kidnapping gig might be the best thing that could happen to Ottis and Marcie. Food, shelter, and safety, all neatly provided in one place.
And the price of that?
The dragon watched him hungrily, long tongue flicking out to lick his lips.
Ottis gulped and quickly looked back down at Marcie. When she was done, he changed her diapers, cleaned her two little teeth, and rocked her to sleep. Then he carefully set her in the crib, a surge of warmth filling him; she was all comfy and safe.
The moment he stepped back, the dragon’s gaze intensified.
“Let’s move this into the hallway,” the dragon murmured.
This time, even though Ottis tried his best to hide his limp, there was still a bit of it showing. The dragon didn’t remark on it. Instead, he waited for Ottis to join him, pulling the nursery door almost shut. He tucked his snout into Ottis’ hair, warm breath puffing onto Ottis’ scalp.
“You smell good,” the dragon said. “I will make this kidnapping worth your while.”
Ottis blushed. “Sounds like you’re coming onto me.”
The dragon laughed, low and rich. “In more ways than one. Let me show you where you’re sleeping tonight.”