by Maia Starr
“Will she live?”
“She will. All four of them will,” Amber replied, her hands coming away bloody from helping to bandage the woman up. “The wounds weren’t that deep. This was nothing more than a shallow hit and run meant to rile us up.” Amber proved that it worked by snarling, her face creasing, and throwing a roll of bandages against the wall. “Fuck! It’s like those West Side Dragons think they can walk all over us all because Levi had the guts to sleep with your wife.”
“Amber!” Jeremy said.
She paled and turned to me. “Oh, I didn’t mean—I’m sorry, Alec. I got caught up—”
I held up a hand to calm her down. “It’s fine. I’m angrier about all of this right now than Sandra. Levi had the guts to have his clan attack random members from ours, but he wasn’t brave enough to come after me directly. The damn coward.”
“Hey...Alec…”
We all turned to one of the victims nearby. He grinned dramatically at me, blood staining his teeth. I got up and walked over, kneeling next to him, looking over his wounds. He was cut on the chest by someone’s claws, and then across his thigh. “That looks like it hurts like hell.”
“It does!” the guy said, laughing, then coughing as he spat up more blood. “But I’ll live. We all will. Those bastards were too scared of us to stay any longer...or should I say, too scared of you.” He inhaled sharply. “Look, about ten of them came at us out of the blue, attacked us in broad daylight out on the street. We ran into the alley here so we could fight a bit better, thinking they wouldn’t be able to crowd us in such a narrow space...but that didn’t do very well. They purposefully left us alive, I think, because they wanted you to know exactly who attacked us.”
By the time he finished his story, I was gritting my teeth. “Levi’s trying to provoke me into starting a war. He wants me to swamp San Francisco in blood and death, that way he can either get me killed or locked up for causing so much violence.”
“That would make sense,” Jeremy said from over my shoulder. “I mean, there’s no other alternative to what his meaning would be for leaving these four alive. He’s too weak to fight us from the shadows.”
“That asshole!” Amber exclaimed.
I flexed my fist, trying to imagine myself gripping a stress ball, counting to ten. My inner dragon was about to come loose, but I couldn’t let that happen just yet. I wasn’t about to be strung along in my rival’s game. If he wanted to rule over San Francisco himself, he should have just come after me. He didn’t, because he knew he wouldn’t win in a straight-out fight. It’s why he ran from me two weeks ago.
Rising to my feet, all eyes turned to me. There was a reason I was the leader of the East Side Dragon Shifters. “Alright...well, we aren’t going to let Levi and his clan have their way with ours. This here was a message, a message that this will happen again. So, from now on, I don’t want anyone in our clan to be with less than five shifters. Try to stick to having ten shifters around you.” Looking at Amber, I nodded at her. “I want you to go around telling everyone in our clan to stick in groups, okay? Take half of these guys here with you, just in case.”
Amber scowled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll go now.”
“The quicker, the better,” I said, watching her and a few others run into the street. I watched them shift, tearing the clothes from their backs and flying into the sky, going off in different directions.
I turned to the remaining shifters. “Pick a house to bring the injured too and treat them there. In the meantime, I’ll sort this all out.” The rest of my shifters nodded and continued to help the victims.
Finally, I looked to Jeremy, who went rigid as I bore my gaze into him. “Oh, let me guess, I’m not going to like the task you want to me handle, right?”
“No, you aren’t. I want you to go set up a meeting between Levi and me, preferably somewhere away from downtown San Francisco. Think you can handle going into enemy territory?”
Jeremy let out a long breath but grinned. “Of course I can. But, uh, wish me luck, eh?”
And with that, he took off running. I swore to myself and left the care of the victims to the rest of my clan. I needed to go blow off steam.
Chapter Seventeen
Naomi
Days after I managed to embrace Fallon, I was knocking on his door once again in the morning, surprised to find him open it up, all dressed and with his backpack on, ready to head to school.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
He nodded at me and pushed past me to descend the stairs. I rolled my eyes but smiled and followed after him.
Alec was already in the living room, slouching on the couch, his eyes glued to the TV and seemingly deep in thought at the same time...until he caught sight of me. His eyes latched onto me and didn’t let go. He seemed...hungry. For what, I had no clue, yet I didn’t really get enough time to give it much thought as I packed Fallon’s lunch box. I made him turn around so I could unzip his backpack and shove it inside, had enough to jerk him backward.
He turned to give me an angry face, but I just shrugged. “Not my fault you have such a small backpack. Come on, let’s get going already; you’re going to be late.”
I hurried Fallon towards the front door, though he stopped me. I was about to get frustrated until he looked back at Alec and waved. “Bye, Dad.”
Alec looked stunned. Fallon hadn’t said goodbye to his dad since I came into the fold, and so Alec sat up straighter. “Uh, have a nice day, kid.”
I eyed him, and then pushed Fallon out the door. We were in the Dodge Charger and ready to go when Fallon stared back at his house.
“What’s up? Did you forget something?” I asked as I tightened my seatbelt.
“No…” he said quietly. “It’s just...my dad looks like he’s thinking really hard. He usually only does that when he’s furious.”
I chewed on Fallon’s words as we took off, Fallon’s head snapping around to focus on the road ahead of us.
“What do you mean?” I thought back to how Alec had been staring at me with something intense behind his gaze. Was that anger, or was that something else he was feeling?
“I don’t know,” was all he had to say. “I can just tell.”
Stopping at a red light, I turned to him. “What usually happens when your dad gets angry? He doesn’t...hit you, like your mom did, right?”
Fallon shook his head vehemently. “No! Dad is nothing like mommy. He’s usually pretty good about staying calm.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
We were silent the rest of the way to his school. We managed to pull up to the front of the school just in time, a few minutes before his class was supposed to start. He hopped out of the car quickly, as if he were ready to be clear of me. I rolled my eyes again, watching him walk inside, and then he did something surprising.
Fallon turned around, smiled, and waved goodbye to me. I thought my jaw would fall off from how quickly it dropped. He then adjusted his backpack and sprinted inside, leaving me to wait so long in the driveway, stunned, that a car behind me honked their horn.
Fallon actually waved goodbye to me. That’s a major breakthrough! Is he starting to like me?
Silently fist-pumping the air, my thoughts strayed to Alec as I drove, wondering how he would react when I got back. He was deep in thought, yet he looked my way when I walked downstairs this morning. What exactly was going on behind those blue eyes of his?
I couldn’t stop thinking of those eyes as they watched me day in and day out, about how they looked me up and down as if they were waiting for me to do something.
I imagined Alec sitting at home, his rippling muscles underneath his shirt, and his blonde hair a bit messed up from sleeping, his chiseled chin resting in his palm. I still hadn’t touched his body yet, and I wonder what it felt like. Were his muscles hard or soft to the touch? Was his breath just warm or steaming hot? What did his lips taste like?
I licked my lips while I dreamed about him, letting my mind go wild for once
.
What would happen if I walked in and kissed him, or pressed my body to his? Would he embrace me hungrily? Would he reject me because I messed up and this was all too soon for him?
For some odd reason, I doubted that he would ever reject, not because of my vanity but because there was something animalistic about him, something that drew me in. It felt like there was a wild, dangerous beast inside of him.
For a brief second, I thought about what Alec would be like if he were one of those dangerous shifters. He probably would have been way more aggressive, and much angrier all the time. I mean, I would have seen him shift by now, too, wouldn’t I have? Why would anyone keep that a secret?
I forced that thought from my mind as I pulled up closer to Alec’s house and sat in the car, staring up at the place. This was my home now, and if I were to change that by sleeping with my boss...things could easily get awkward, especially since I told Fallon I didn’t come here to replace his mom. Yet my brain couldn’t stop picturing Alec and me snuggling in one of our beds, our hands touching each other’s bodies hungrily, our lips frantically interlocked.
The fantasies of a nanny were not going to go away anytime soon, I realized, so I did my best to stow those thoughts and climb out of the car. Every step I took towards the house made my heart hammer in my chest. How was I supposed to work with him in the house? Hopefully, Alec was planning on heading out somewhere while Fallon was gone, so I could do laundry and other tasks without being too distracted by, well, him.
I tried not to think of his hot body on the other side of the front door, or how I would lock eyes with him the second I opened it and walked inside. I needed to get a hold of myself, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.
So, taking a deep breath, I opened the front door.
Chapter Eighteen
Alec
When Naomi walked through the front door, I wanted to pounce her right then and there.
My desires over the past few days had only intensified, and when it came to Naomi, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting so much more from her. I didn’t want her only to be Fallon’s nanny anymore. There was a part of me that wanted to make her mine.
Naomi closed the front door quietly, behind her back, and locked eyes with me. Those hazel orbs of hers sparkled and pulled me in, never letting go. It was like there were worlds in her eyes, beckoning me forward, asking me to come closer.
“Welcome back,” I said casually, my attention completely drifting from the TV. I forgot the thing was even on once she came in.
She smiled at me and looked away as if she couldn’t handle watching me. “Thanks,” was all she said before she waltzed to the stairs and began to climb them. I turned to watch her, my eyes glued to her body. My gaze held the sway of her hips, ran over the shape of her thighs. Her flat stomach and curvy chest caught my attention as she turned to walk up the next flight. Her eyes met mine briefly, and then she was climbing up to the second floor, out of sight.
I released a tense breath. What was that look? It was as if she were aching to touch me, to run her soft hands all over my hard body. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a woman ogle me like that before, but it was the first time in a long time that I had the freedom to do something about it. Before, when I was with Sandra, I promised her my loyalty, despite the often-toxic relationship we had. It had been infuriating, especially when she would lead me on to have sex, only to then decide she wasn’t up for it. She liked to tease me like that, and now all that frustration came flooding back.
I needed to sleep with Naomi if I wanted to stay sane. I could already feel Naomi’s presence seeping into my bloodstream like a drug.
My feelings were pent up as I stood and flexed and stretched. My inner dragon urged me on.
Taking the first steps towards the stairs rocked my world. I could hear her upstairs, shutting her door, going about taking off her clothes to go shower maybe. It was like she knew I was coming up to her, so she was getting ready to meet me halfway.
I grinned like an idiot as I slowly climbed the stairs, careful to keep myself from charging up and scaring her. I mean, we had the whole day to make love now that Fallon was gone at school, so there was no rush.
My lust vanished, and I stood on the second floor, staring up at his room on the third floor. Fallon. While he had been warming up to Naomi, what if he were to find out she and I slept together? Obviously, he wouldn’t know about the details, but it could still screw with his mind.
I clenched my fist.
What the hell was I doing? My inner dragon roared and moved about uncomfortably inside since it couldn’t seem to decide on what to do.
It didn’t matter what my desires were, right? This was my son, the same boy whose human mother ran out on us, who tortured him by forcing him to listen to her while she slept with Levi. She tried to take him away from me.
And what kind of expression would he wear when he found out I’d started sleeping with Naomi? Would he think I was just using her? Would he look down on me? How much would I hurt him?
I took a deep breath, my hand absently reaching out towards my son’s room, and then I snatched it back.
My inner dragon growled for my nanny again, and this time, thoughts of Fallon wouldn’t stop my lust. I apologized once to Fallon in my head and continued to climb the stairs. If I wanted to be there for Fallon when he needed it, and for my clan, I needed to stay sane, and the only way to stay sane was to touch and prod Naomi. I needed her touch, without any doubt.
Finally stepping up to Naomi’s room, I listened closely as she rustled around with some fabric and wrapped something around her. I licked my lips, my blood beginning to race. Gently, I knocked on her door, and she stopped whatever she was doing. “Naomi...can I talk to you?”
“Yeah, of course...but do you mind waiting? I was getting ready to take a shower.”
Placing my fingers on the doorknob, I turned it and shoved it open and stepped inside. Naomi flinched by her bed, where her clothes were strewn about. She was naked, except for the fact that a towel wrapped around her body, so I could only really see her bare shoulders and thighs. It was enough.
She stared at me, breathing heavily. I took a step closer, wanting to leap towards her and rip the towel off of her. “Sorry, but it can’t wait.” She seemed to stand a bit taller and crossed her arms, her wide eyes never leaving mine. She didn’t move as I stepped closer and closer. “I’m just gonna come out and say it. I need to sleep with you. I don’t have any other choice.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
Now I was close enough to place a finger under her chin and lift it. My mouth was only a few inches away from hers. Her lips were still parted. “It means that I’m telling you I want you. I want your body and mind. I want to feel your skin rub against mine.”
“What if I don’t want to?” she asked, her voice breaking.
I grinned. “Then we won’t. It’s not hot when it’s forced, Naomi.”
She stood in silence for a few minutes, her eyes flicking over mine, trying to read me.
“Okay. But promise me something first.”
I growled. “What is it?”
“This’ll only be a one-time thing.”
I was panting now, waiting desperately to take her into my arms. “That works out perfectly for me.”
Naomi didn’t speak again. Instead, she dropped her towel.
Chapter Nineteen
Naomi
When I dropped my towel, precious seconds passed in complete silence. I could hear cars drive by while Alec took in my body.
I stood there, naked as the day I was born, my curves all for him to see. He was still fully clothed, his hands hovering in the air just before my chest. I took a step away from him, making him breathe even harder for me.
There was something so powerfully addictive about teasing him like this. I had wanted to sleep with him too...but I didn’t think he felt the same. We both wanted a way to escape. Alec’s intense, an
imal-like lust was otherworldly to me, and I could easily see how pent up he was. Dropping my towel in front of him was probably killing him.
He tried to dash towards me, to scoop me up, but I held out a single finger, making him stop in his tracks. My heart pounded at the sensation of his gaze running all over my body, not just looking at me like I was a plaything, but like I was a treasure to be indulged. Ken had never looked at me like that. I wanted to keep this going for as long as I could.
Despite being able to easily pick me up and screw me whichever way he liked, he was giving me power. I pushed my finger to his chest, running it down between his pecs, my fingertip against the soft fabric of his shirt. “Your shirt. Take it off. You can’t touch me until you do.”
He took it off so fast I had barely pulled my finger back yet. I looked over his six-pack as if I were looking at art in a museum, loving it with a discerning eye, but unwilling to touch.
“Now, everything else. Take it all off.”
He grinned and complied, stripping off so fast, I barely had time to take all of him in. He stood still, waiting for his next order while I stepped up to him, running my finger up and down his body. I placed a hand on his shoulder to help me lean up and plant a single kiss on his mouth.
“What now?” he asked.
“Now?” I smiled. “Go wild.”
I was scooped up and thrown onto my bed. Alec loomed over me, erect and ready to drill into me. I opened my mouth to urge him on, but it turned out he didn’t need it. He entered me quickly, and I gasped and practically shouted a swear.
Alec really did go wild from the moment he touched me, never slowing down. He pounded into me like a man who was about to die and never see happiness again. He was desperate.
But I didn’t get to think too hard on that since my mind began to melt.