Dragon Protectors: Shifter Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  The feel of his strong, firm body took Kennedy’s breath away. She could feel every curve of his massive frame against her.

  Owen’s mouth moved off hers, tracing the lines of her face with his nose and lips and coming to crush at the base of her ear. Kennedy sighed, bucking forward, longing to feel him closer, even though he couldn’t move anymore.

  “Gods, I’ve wanted to kiss you from the second I saw you staring at me,” Owen mumbled, palms spreading to cup her round rear. Her bottom was full but seemed lost in his giant hands. The hem of her skirt inched upward as his mouth moved downward.

  “I wasn’t staring at you!” Kennedy protested. Owen only laughed, and the sound of his voice, of his laugh, put a trance-like spell on her, causing the heady feeling of desire to overtake her body.

  It didn’t matter to her that they were in a parking lot where anyone might see, that there were probably cameras watching them right now. It didn’t matter to her that her father would see Owen as the enemy and that their romance was forbidden.

  All that mattered was Owen’s touch, exploring Kennedy’s most intimate places, caressing and kissing her, murmuring in her ear in such a way as to cause an explosion of goosebumps on her body. She was aware of his tongue tasting the newly bared skin of her breasts, her thigh raising to meet his hip. He paused to stare at her, his eyes reflecting amber in the eerie light around them.

  “I want you,” Kennedy whispered. It was all Owen needed to hear before he entered her. In a wave of frenzied thrusts, Kennedy was brought higher, her head spinning as laps of passion overwhelmed them. Her other thigh came up, and she was suspended against the window in a foggy haze where she could see nothing, hear nothing. She could only feel the pool of pleasure in which she had fallen. Owen was precisely where she wanted him, but she still wanted him closer, inside her, as a part of her.

  Together they rose to their heights, their cries echoing throughout the parking lot, the cold steel of the car a stunning contrast to the heat they were creating.

  With a final thrust and moan, Owen collapsed against her, beads of sweat falling to glisten in her hair. Kennedy’s hands encircled his neck, and she pulled him close, wanting to feel the rhythm of his heart. She was not surprised that it matched hers exactly.

  He can’t be my mate if we’re forbidden to be together, she thought miserably. The fates wouldn’t do that to us, would they?

  But when Owen finally lifted his head, his breaths evening, and stared into her eyes, Kennedy knew that her instincts had always been right: she was meant to be with Owen, no matter what the pack said about it.

  Since Kennedy couldn’t bring him home, Owen suggested they return to the palace, but in the aftermath of their impulsive passion, Kennedy was suddenly very concerned about being seen.

  “Why don’t we go for a drive?” she asked instead. Owen was agreeable to the idea, and together, they ventured toward the bluff caverns.

  The blue-grey region was as an inconspicuous spot as any. The other cars there were filled with lunasnuff smokers and lovers, each consumed with their own activities. Nobody paid the newcomers any mind, even with Kennedy’s expensive car.

  “I haven’t been here since I was a kid,” Kennedy confessed. “It’s exactly the same as I remember it.”

  “Nothing much ever changes in the Hollows, does it?” The remark wasn’t lost on Kennedy, and she sighed.

  “It’s not my rule,” she reminded him. “Every Alpha in the Hollows adheres by the same code, Owen. You are still deemed the enemy.”

  “And yet he can do business in our palace,” Owen remarked bitterly. “A little hypocrisy?”

  “I don’t know much about the semantics,” Kennedy replied. “I do know that this would not be accepted… whatever this is.” Owen turned his head to study her thoughtfully.

  “What do you want this to be?” he asked quietly.

  “I try not to have expectations. Less disappointment that way.” She thought she saw his eyes brighten.

  “I know exactly what you mean,” he said. “But then again, when I want something, I don’t give up very easily.”

  They sat in silence for a long moment.

  “What do you propose we do about this?” Owen prodded gently. “I know I don’t want to walk away from you. If I even could.”

  Kennedy’s heart leaped. He was saying exactly what she wanted to hear. And yet…

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said woefully. “We don’t have a choice. I have no idea what will happen if my father finds out about us.”

  “Do you think he’s apt to wage war?”

  “Over me? No. Over being dishonored? Hell yes. My father takes tradition very seriously.”

  “Even if it’s a war he can’t win?” Kennedy scowled.

  “No one’s going to war!” she snapped. “It’s not even an option.”

  Owen nodded. “I agree. I’m glad we’re on the same page. Now the question remains, what are our options?”

  “Well, you could always go ask his permission,” Kennedy muttered and then loathed herself the second she heard the words aloud.

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Owen replied. “And it was what I had in mind to begin with.”

  “He’s going to say no.”

  “Probably,” Owen agreed. “At first. But I can be very persuasive.”

  Kennedy eyed him through her peripheral vision. She couldn’t believe that, after their rendezvous in the parking lot, he still made her nervous.

  “Is that a fact?” she asked. “How persuasive?” Owen’s smile widened, and he leaned over to cup her face in his hands.

  “I convinced you to fall in love with me, didn’t I?” Kennedy gaped at him.

  “Who said I was in love with you?”

  “Your eyes did.”

  Kennedy was glad for the darkness of the vehicle’s interior, but she was sure Owen could feel the hotness of her face against his palms.

  “How can that even be?” she mumbled, trying to avert her gaze, but he held fast, locking his eyes with hers. “We just met.”

  Owen chuckled.

  “You don’t believe in magic and you’re a Hollows girl? For shame.” He was teasing, of course, but Kennedy realized just how true were the words he had spoken. When was the last time anything magical had happened to her? When was the last time she could claim the feeling of wonderment she felt while staring into Owen’s eyes?

  It was in that moment that Kennedy knew she was not going to give up on Owen, no matter what. If her father refused their relationship, they would just have to find another way to be together.

  “What is it?” Owen asked gently. Kennedy shook her head.

  “Maybe I didn’t believe in magic before, but I do now.”

  He grinned and softly placed a kiss on her waiting mouth. When they parted, he gazed at her.

  “So, when should I talk to your father?” he asked. “Do you need a few days to brace yourself or—?”

  “There’s no time like the present,” Kennedy interrupted, hitting the auto-start button on her car. She slammed it in reverse and zoomed out of the bluffs at breakneck speed—she was afraid she might change her mind if she slowed down.

  6

  Cameron Solstice had always prided himself on being fair. He was as honest a businessman as could be found in the Hollows, his clients on the Sunside had good things to say about him, and he was meticulous in his dealings with the pack.

  Cameron was a busy man and didn’t have time for insignificant issues that threatened to plague his day. He didn’t want to hear the trifling matters of Theo, his most trusted, albeit annoying, employee. He didn’t care for Rocco’s whining that Kennedy was not returning his calls. Under normal circumstances, he would never have entertained the idea of engaging either of them in their vapid nonsense, except that Cameron’s very well-honed sixth sense was bothering him.

  It wasn’t unusual, of course, that one of the princes would find themselves into one of the jewelry stores he owned. Jewelry was one
of the few markets the dragons had not monopolized, and Cameron was happy to have cornered it for himself. He had often seen one of the devilishly handsome brothers in the towns, and he had never been anything other than cordial to them. That did not mean he didn’t have an inherent hatred for them simmering just beneath the surface.

  Of course, the Lycans knew they were no match for the dragons. Another civil war would only mean more deaths for the werewolves and anyone else who would be foolish enough to follow them. There would be no more war; not while everyone played their part and behaved nicely, if only on the surface.

  But that didn’t mean that there weren’t any rules to be abided by.

  In truth, Cameron wasn’t even sure if he held onto residual anger of his own or that one owned by his ancestors from a place where he hadn’t even existed. All he knew for certain was that the dragons could not be trusted.

  And now it looked like one of them had set sights on his daughter.

  Cameron sighed and stared at Theo. “Tell me again what happened.”

  “He came into the store!” Theo insisted, flapping his hands around with his ridiculously animated gestures. “And asked for her!”

  “Oh, gods, no!” Cameron gasped in feigned shock. “By name?” But either Theo didn’t understand sarcasm or was far too caught up in his own theatrics to notice because he nodded vehemently.

  “BY NAME!”

  “Theo, I know you don’t mean to be a pain in my ass,” Cameron said. “But just because a man comes into the store where Kennedy works and asks for her by name doesn’t mean anything is going on.”

  In fact, Cameron was sure something was happening right under his nose, but he didn’t dare give Theo any more ammunition. The man was already certifiable.

  “He looks at her like… like a dog in heat!” Theo sniffed in disgust, and Cameron couldn’t help but wonder if the salesman wasn’t jealous of his daughter.

  Does he look at Kennedy as competition? He didn’t entertain the notion much longer than that and instead rose from the chair in his study.

  “Where is Kennedy?” he asked, glancing at his watch. He realized how late it had gotten and he still hadn’t seen her car pull up in the driveway.

  “She was closing tonight,” Theo mumbled, apparently hurt that his boss was not taking him more seriously.

  “I’ll talk to her when she gets home,” Cameron assured his employee, but he wasn’t sure he would. He did not want a replay of what had happened the previous night. Kennedy not only looked like her Valkyrie mother, but she acted like her, too. That temper was not easy to sate.

  “I have done my duty here,” Theo announced. “I absolve myself from anything further in this matter.”

  Thank the gods, Cameron thought, his eyes still trained on the window. “You are a good one, Theo. Thank you for your vigilance.”

  “Oh, and Mr. Solstice,” Theo said, turning from the double doors of the library. Cameron arched an eyebrow expectantly.

  “Yes?”

  “Can you please tell Kennedy not to yell at me after you talk to her? It’s very bad for my chakras. They become wildly unbalanced.”

  Cameron couldn’t suppress a snort, though he quickly covered it up with a laugh. “I’ll see what I can do, Theo, but I can’t promise anything. She’s got a bit of her mother in her.”

  Theo made a noise of his own and stormed out of the study, like he regretted coming to him again. Cameron sighed in his absence and stared down at this cell phone. As if his eyes had magical abilities, it began to ring.

  Crap. I replaced one problem with another, he thought, snatching up the ringing cell. “Yes, Rocco?”

  “Oh, hi, Cameron. I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I’m looking for Kennedy. Have you seen her tonight?”

  “She was working, Rocco. I’m shocked you didn’t go by to peek in on her.” There was a long silence, and Cameron knew that Kennedy had told him the truth about Rocco stalking her at work. What is wrong with these guys? In my day, we courted women; we didn’t go to their work and stalk them. Now, not only is the dragon doing it, but this boy I’d set my sights on is doing it also.

  “I was only worried about her, Cam! I didn’t go there for any reason other than that, I swear!”

  “Listen, Rocco, I like you, you know I do. I think you’d make a great Alpha one day. but if Kennedy isn’t interested, I can’t force her, you know?”

  “But we hit it off so well, and…”

  Cameron immediately tuned him out, having heard the spiel several times already. They had hit it off, and she had promised to call, but she never had. He had no idea what had happened. The whiny pitch of Rocco’s voice was sending him over the edge.

  First Theo’s caterwauling, and now this one’s. Gods, have mercy!

  “Let me just stop you right there, son,” Cameron interrupted. “You are not going to get any woman, let alone the daughter of an Alpha, with that tone or that attitude. If you want to win over a woman like my daughter, you need to step up your game and stop being so needy. Do you know what I’m saying?”

  More silence fell through the connection.

  “You’re right, “Rocco finally said, and Cameron breathed out. It was nice to know he was getting through to at least one person tonight. “Don’t tell her I called, okay?”

  “I won’t,” Cameron agreed. He’d had no intention of telling her, anyway. He had a good feeling that Rocco had already blown his chance with Kennedy, as much as it pained him to admit. I’ll have to find her another suitable replacement, he thought. Kennedy’s own words came back to slap him in the aftermath.

  “So your solution to finding an heir is pimping me off to the first stalker you deem fit?”

  He knew that his daughter was aware of how much he loved her and that she had said that in anger, but he couldn’t suppress the smidgen of guilt he felt.

  Am I just trying to live my life vicariously through her in some weird way?

  It was an existential question that required far more philosophical thinking than Cameron was willing to give that night. He had other matters on his mind: matters like Owen Parker and what he wanted with his daughter.

  When Cameron had questioned Kennedy about what had happened in the store, he hadn’t been convinced that the attraction between her and the prince wasn’t mutual, yet that didn’t bother him as much as it should have. After all, Kennedy was an attractive girl, and who could resist the princes? Sanely, he had probably already realized it was bound to happen. But Cameron had absolute faith in his daughter. He knew she would never betray the pack or their legacy by becoming involved with the enemy.

  It was Owen who bothered him the most. Everyone knew that the dragons would take exactly what they wanted and leave nothing but destruction in their wakes.

  My daughter will not be part of that destruction. Over my dead body.

  Cameron saw the lights of a car pulling up from the gate and exhaled in relief. Kennedy was home. They could sit down and have a rational discussion now that they both had calm heads. He hadn’t had an opportunity to see her that morning and make things right before they went off to work, but he would now.

  He stood at the glass, a small smile on his lips, and he lifted a hand to wave at her as she exited the car. His jovial expression faded when the passenger side door also opened and another figure emerged, hidden in the shadows. Kennedy turned to say something to her passenger as she locked the car, and she waved at the figure as it disappeared back toward the rear yard.

  Cameron turned to look at the surveillance cameras, but the shadowy figure had already disappeared through the yard and over the stone wall separating the property.

  The front door opened, and Cameron heard the click of her heels against the marble tile in the foyer. “Kenn?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you come in here for a minute?”

  The gentle click-click of her shoes came closer before she appeared in the doorway. There was an indecipherable look in her clear green eyes, and it
bothered him.

  “Who was that?” he asked.

  “Hm?”

  “Who came home with you?”

  “Home with me?”

  Cameron’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Are you playing a game with me?”

  “Of course not,” Kennedy said. “I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I saw someone get out of your car and disappear into the backyard. Who was it? Do I need to show you on camera?”

  “Oh!” She forced a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Duh. I must be tired. That was Lizabeth. I saw her waiting for the bus on the way home. I forgot.”

  “You forgot?”

  “I’m really tired, Dad. I’m going to bed.”

  Cameron wanted to call out to her, but he realized that it didn’t matter how much he pushed her, she wouldn’t give him any more than she wanted him to know.

  What are you thinking, Cameron? That your daughter just brought home a dragon? Not even if she was mad enough to kill you would she do that.

  But if it was not Owen, then what was she hiding?

  Cameron groaned in frustration and sank into his desk chair, wondering when his life had gotten so complicated.

  Why couldn’t I just have had a boy? Life would have been so much simpler.

  Whatever Kennedy was hiding, Cameron knew he’d find out about it sooner or later. His daughter had never been a very good liar.

  His only hope was that he learned sooner rather than later.

  7

  If Owen had had a sleepless night after meeting Kennedy, he was a full-fledged insomniac following their encounter.

  Whatever hold she had on him extended beyond their physical contact and haunted him as he wandered through the silent palace, wishing that he had followed through with their initial plan to speak to her father about their relationship.