Protected By The Dragon (District Shifters Book 4)

by Lola Gabriel

  She headed back to the office with a heavy heart. There was hardly anyone left now, mostly just associates desperate to impress with their long hours. She had almost an hour of peace to reflect on this and harden herself to the very real possibility that this would be the last time she would see Mitchell. The thought hurt, but she had to be professional. She had already let her attraction to Mitchell blind her to what was right in front of her. She wouldn’t do that again.

  7

  The second Lexi ended the call, Mitchell sprang up from the couch. He jumped in the shower and got dressed, putting on black ripped jeans and a tight white t-shirt. He reminded himself for the hundredth time that nothing could happen between him and Lexi. She was a mortal, and he wasn’t. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to look good for her. He was on dangerous ground even thinking that, but in that moment, he didn’t care. For once, he let his dragon win one of their many internal battles.

  He added a dash of cologne and checked himself in the mirror. He knew he looked good. He worked out, and it showed, and he reminded himself once more he was playing a dangerous game. Apart from the obvious fact that Lexi was his lawyer and would never allow herself to get involved with a client, the way he was going, he would only end up getting hurt.

  But what if you don’t? That was his dragon, as insistent as ever. When have my animal instincts ever been wrong?

  Although he was doing his best to resist the pull he felt towards Lexi, he had to admit that his dragon had a point. The times he had ended up in a bad situation had always been the times he had ignored his animal instincts. It was at least possible that Lexi did carry the Sanmere protein.

  Mitchell shook his head. What mattered was proving his innocence. Lexi had an alibi for him now, and he thought that she had likely called him in to tell him that she would be going to the DA’s office tomorrow to get this whole thing thrown out. His cheeks ached from smiling. This was all going to be over soon. Maybe even as soon as tomorrow morning.

  He checked his watch. He still had twenty minutes before he had to be at the office, and he slipped his wallet into his jeans’ pocket and picked up his car keys. On a whim, he decided to surprise Lexi with some Chinese food and a nice bottle of wine. She was working late again, on his behalf, and chances were that she hadn’t had dinner yet. He thought it would be a nice thank you to take some to her, although he knew if she made this whole mess go away, it wouldn’t even come close to being enough to thank her.

  He was whistling while he drove to his favorite Chinese takeout restaurant. He ordered and waited impatiently for the food. It didn’t take long, and he was soon back on his way to Lexi’s office. The spicy smell of the food made his stomach rumble, and he laughed to himself. If that happened as he made his way into Lexi’s office, it wouldn’t exactly be the smooth entrance he was hoping for.

  The parking lot of the office was almost empty at this hour, and he felt a tingle of excitement going through him. He and Lexi would be almost alone, just the two of them.

  Stop it, he warned himself. Nothing is going to happen. We’re just going to eat some good food, drink some nice wine, and celebrate my soon to be acquittal.

  He grabbed the bag of Chinese food and the bottle of wine from the seat beside him and got out of the car. He headed up in the elevator, trying to ignore the fluttering in his stomach at the thought of seeing Lexi again. No matter how much he resisted this, he knew that something inside of him had changed, and that he would never quite be able to get Lexi out of his head again.

  He headed for her office. The door was ajar, and he could see her sitting at her desk, writing something in a legal pad. Her hair was loose around her face. The only light in the room came from a small desk lamp, and the soft lighting suited her, making her look almost angelic in its glow.

  She must have felt his eyes on her, because she looked up as he approached, and for a second, her eyes held his. Mitchell knew that getting through this meeting without touching Lexi, without kissing her, was going to be absolute hell. He was starting to regret the food and the wine. He should have just come empty handed, found out what she wanted, and left quickly before he could lose control of himself. Before his dragon could take over and push him into something dangerous.

  He stepped into the office. Lexi looked at the bag in his hand and then the wine in the other. She frowned, and for the first time, Mitchell realized that she didn’t look happy. Not at all. Was she going to deliver bad news? Had she already tried to use his alibi to get the case thrown out and failed?

  “What is it?” he asked. Lexi looked at him, and she swallowed so hard he saw her throat moving.

  “Sit down,” she said. Her tone told him something had definitely gone wrong. Her voice was level, monotone, like she was trying to hide her emotions from him. Mitchell put the bag of food on the top of a tall silver filing cabinet that stood just inside of Lexi’s office door, the wine beside it, and then he sat down opposite her. Whatever had happened, it didn’t mean their whole fight was over. They could still win this. She could still win this. Mitchell had to cling to that belief.

  “What is it, Lexi?” he asked again when he was seated.

  “You lied to me,” Lexi said. Her words threw him. They were the last thing he was expecting. More than her words, it was the look in her eye as she said it. She looked angry, but more than that, he could see the sorrow and the pain in her eyes. He had hurt her, and he hated himself for that. But why did she think he’d lied? Samuel had pulled off the interview, the two of them had already discussed that.

  “I—” Mitchell started.

  “Don’t,” Lexi cut him off. “Whatever bullshit you’re going to throw my way to try to explain why you lied to me, just don’t. And don’t try to deny it. You’ve made a fool out of me, Mitchell! Do you know what I spent today doing? Checking Samuel’s story. Not only were you not in the bar you claimed to have been in, but you weren’t even with Samuel, because I went to Seven Oaks, and I know he was working that day.”

  “You went to his work?” Mitchell asked, surprised. For a moment, he forgot his own predicament. He had ended up making trouble for Samuel, the one person who had tried to help him. “Oh, Lexi, what did you tell them?”

  Lexi didn’t respond at first, but then she sighed and shook her head.

  “Nothing about Samuel. I told them a client was using the cinema as an alibi and asked to see the footage. They have no idea I was really looking for Samuel. Because unlike you, I don’t lie to someone who is on my team. When I said I wouldn’t be making trouble for Samuel, I meant it. I mean, in theory, I should be reporting him to the police, or certainly the courts. What he did is serious, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume you had his arm up his back somehow.”

  “You want to know why Samuel agreed to provide me with an alibi? Because he knows I didn’t do this. He didn’t need to be with me at the time of the murder to know that much.”

  “I get that,” Lexi said. “He’s your friend. There’s a time I would probably have done the same for my best friend. But honestly, your story was so fucking bad. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out it was a lie?”

  “I thought you trusted me enough to believe me without checking up on the details,” Mitchell said, looking down at his lap.

  Lexi slammed her palms down on her desk, and Mitchell’s head flew up. He could see the anger written all over her face.

  “Goddammit, Mitchell! Even if I hadn’t looked into it, do you honestly think the DA’s office would have accepted it on face value? You didn’t think they might have fact-checked it? Do you have any idea how embarrassing it would have been to be blindsided in court like that? Never mind how damaging it would have been to your defense. Samuel would have been charged with perjury, too.”

  “I… I’m sorry Lexi. I didn’t think it through.”

  “Clearly not. You know the worst part of it all, Mitchell? Until I went to that bar and saw you two weren’t there, I did trust you.”<
br />
  “Did trust me as in, you don’t anymore?” Mitchell asked quietly.

  “It makes me question everything, Mitchell,” Lexi replied. “Like what else you might have lied about.”

  “You think I did it? You think I murdered Lisa?”

  Lexi shook her head slowly. “No. That’s the worst part of it. I don’t. But I can’t help someone who won’t help themselves.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mitchell repeated. He knew the words weren’t enough, but they were all he had. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He just couldn’t. But he was breaking inside when he saw the disappointment on her face.

  “Do you have any idea what I’ve risked doing this?” Lexi asked.

  Mitchell shook his head. Lexi jumped to her feet and moved around to the open space behind him. She paced the floor as she spoke, and Mitchell spun the chair around so he was facing her. The least he could do was look her in the face now that this had all blown up.

  “Hughes told me to get you to plead out or drop the case. I fought your corner and told him I couldn’t do that because I believed you were innocent. He gave me two weeks to find something to support that theory or drop the case. I have spent every waking moment on this damned case, and you know where I am? I’m right back at the start, only now I have a client who can’t be trusted. Hughes didn’t come out and say that if I screw this up, my career would be as good as over, but he didn’t have to, because we both knew it. So, thank you for that.”

  “Lexi, please calm down,” Mitchell said.

  “Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me?” Lexi shouted. She stopped pacing and glared at him, and he knew he had chosen the wrong words. He couldn’t think straight, his head was all over, consumed by the fact he had hurt her.

  “I really am sorry I lied to you,” he said.

  “So why did you do it?”

  “Because I didn’t want to disappoint you, all right?” Mitchell screamed.

  Lexi looked at him for a moment, and he saw her eyes soften. He allowed himself to believe that they could still salvage something from this, but then her eyes changed again, and he saw the pain in them.

  “Well, you did,” she said, so quietly Mitchell had to strain to hear her.

  He felt like his heart was breaking. His dragon was screaming at him, berating him, calling him all of the idiots under the sun. In that moment, Mitchell thought it was right about everything. Lexi had been meant to be his mate. And he had ruined everything. He opened his mouth to tell her something, anything that might make her see how much he wanted to open up to her, to tell her everything. But before he could speak, he saw Lexi’s face change once more, becoming a steely mask. She was closing herself off to him, and he felt like he was drowning.

  “I’m dropping your case, Mitchell. I never should have taken it in the first place. I’ll get you a list of other lawyers who might be able to help you plead out.”

  “No,” Mitchell said. “Please don’t do that.”

  “I’m sorry, Mitchell, it’s already done. I’ve made my decision. Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

  Her last words gave him hope. She might have closed herself off to him consciously, but there was still a part of her that felt what he did, that wanted him. He could see it in the way she had reacted to this. She was a lawyer who represented criminals. He knew he wasn’t the first client who had lied to her, and he suspected this wasn’t her usual reaction to finding out the truth about their stories. This thing he felt when he looked at her, she felt it, too.

  “What can I say to change your mind?” he asked. Please let there be something.

  “You can tell me the truth,” she answered.

  That was the one thing he couldn’t do. At least not about his alibi. But there was one truth he could tell her, the one that he hoped would show her that he might have lied to her, but he hated himself for it.

  He got to his feet and closed the gap between them in two strides. Lexi started to move backwards, away from him, but he grabbed her around the waist with one arm before she could move out of his reach. He pulled her body against his and pushed his other hand into her hair.

  “How’s this for the truth?” he said in a low voice that was almost a growl.

  He pressed his lips to hers. She resisted for a moment, her palms flat on his chest, pushing him away, but then her body took over. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her, her mouth moving in time with his desperate kiss.

  He could taste soda on her tongue, sweet like her. It moved further into his mouth, wrapping around his, and he felt like he would explode. His cock was so hard it was uncomfortable against his jeans, but all he could focus on was her mouth on his, her body pressed tightly against him.

  Mitchell moved his hand from her hair and down her body. He cupped her ass with both hands and lifted her. She came up easily, not stopping kissing him for even a second. He pushed her skirt up around her hips, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He could feel the heat from her pussy against him, and he moaned into her mouth.

  He turned and walked towards her desk. He kept one hand on her ass, supporting her, and he swiped out with the other arm, clearing the papers from her desk. He didn’t think she would be too happy about that when they were done, but in the moment, it was like she didn’t even notice. She had been unleashed every bit as much as he had. He set her down on the edge of the desk and pulled back from her mouth. He smiled down at her, and she looked up at him, her lust-filled eyes searching his face. He didn’t speak. In that moment, they didn’t need words. Their bodies were doing all the talking for them.

  Mitchell knelt on the ground and pushed Lexi’s knees far apart. He reached out and hooked his fingers into the crotch of her panties. She sucked in a breath as the back of his fingers moved across her damp, hot pussy. He pulled hard on her panties, waiting for them to snap. He pushed the scraps of torn fabric away from her and leaned forwards, pushing his tongue between her wet lips.

  He heard Lexi moan as his tongue found her clit. It was already swollen, already ready for him. He could feel it pulsing against his tongue. Her breathing sped up, becoming a fast, ragged, panting sound. He felt her body shift beneath his tongue, and he pulled back long enough to glance up. She was leaning back, her hands behind herself on the desk. He smiled to himself and buried his face in her pussy once more.

  Mitchell moved his tongue from side to side, enjoying the way it made Lexi moan. He applied more pressure, and he was rewarded by a longer, deeper moan. Lexi’s legs came up on either side of him, and her upper body was pulled forward, almost like it was closing in on itself as she moaned again, and Mitchell knew her climax had hit her. She moaned again, a strangled sound, her legs flopped back down, and she laid back on her hands again. Mitchell ran his tongue over her flat stomach and then got to his feet.

  Lexi’s head was thrown back, her eyes closed, her face contorted as pleasure coursed through her. Mitchell stepped between Lexi’s legs and ran his fingers through her soaking wet slit. Her eyes flew open, and she looked at him, biting her lower lips. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glassy as she gave him a shy smile that sent a wave of arousal slamming through him.

  She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to meet hers. Mitchell felt fire coursing through him as Lexi’s tongue moved over his, tasting her juices on his tongue. He could feel her hard nipples grazing over his chest, and he moaned into her mouth. She moved her arms from around his neck and pushed them between their bodies, making Mitchell take half a step back. She fumbled open his jeans and reached inside of his waistband, shoving his jeans and boxer shorts down. Her fist circled his hard cock and began to move up and down, caressing him, driving him wild. He kissed down her neck, pressing his face against it, breathing her in, trying to stop himself from coming beneath her touch. Her hand moved more quickly by the second, putting on just the right amount of pressure.

  Mitchell had to hold himself back. He wouldn’
t come until his cock was inside of her, wrapped up in her tight little pussy. He bore her sweet torture for as long as he could, fighting to stay in control both of his climax and of his dragon. His dragon had stirred the moment he had tasted her, and now, it was threatening to break forth. He could feel the fiery roar in his throat, could feel his wings there, ready to break through the surface of his skin.

  He reached down and wrapped his hand around Lexi’s wrist, stopping her from working his cock any longer, and placed it on his heart. He looked her in the eye, and he knew she understood what his hands were telling her. She was his now.

  He pulled her forward by her hips until her ass was on the edge of the desk, and then he ran his fingers through her slit again. He felt his cock respond to how wet she was. He moved his hips forward, running the tip of his cock over her opening, teasing her until she reached behind him and grabbed his ass, her nails digging into the meaty flesh. Lexi pulled him forward, and he slipped inside of her with ease, stretching out her pussy and making her take his full length in one smooth thrust.

  She held his gaze as he penetrated her, and he felt his dragon threatening to break loose again. Lexi wasn’t just his; she was his dragon’s as well, and they would both lay down their lives to protect hers. In that moment, he had never felt closer to anyone before. His dragon knew this was for life, too; it had known it all along.

  Mitchell felt his eyes starting to change as he thrust into Lexi, and he closed them quickly, hoping she hadn’t noticed the reptilian shape of his irises, the way they flashed to red. She was moaning, her hands moving up and down his back, and he knew she hadn’t seen. He fought the dragon, pushing it down. He wanted Lexi to fall for Mitchell, the man behind the beast. He upped the pace of his thrusts, and Lexi’s eager hips matched him stroke for stroke, pulling him further inside of her.

  He opened his eyes again and leaned forward, running his tongue down Lexi’s neck. She leaned back, giving him access to her chest, and he ran his tongue between her small but pert breasts. He moved his head to the right and sucked her nipple into his mouth as he pounded into her. He knew he couldn’t hold his orgasm off much longer, but he wanted her to come first, to see how he could make her body sing.