She began to pull her jacket off when a noise coming from her living room made her freeze. A cold fear gripped her heart, and she stood, paralyzed, as her worst fears became realized. The same group of men who had attacked her before crept out from the rooms in her home and began to smile at her. It had to be a nightmare. She closed her eyes and hoped that when she opened them, they would be gone. But they weren’t.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked in a shaky voice. She began to wish that she had paid more attention during the self-defense courses that she had taken a few years ago. It had been fun at the time, but she had completely forgotten most of what she had learned from her instructor.
“We are here for you, darling,” the man who fancied himself a leader said as he glided toward her. It was eerie how he did that. It looked as if he had no feet.
“What do you want from me?” she asked. “There’s nothing I have that you could possibly want.”
“I suppose not. But then again, there are things in this world that you know nothing about.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, backing away from them with her hands trembling. If she just found a way to get out the open the door and run to the elevator, maybe she would be safe. If there were people in the hallway, she wouldn’t have to worry. They would be able to help her. Maybe she could even knock on one of her neighbor’s doors and get attention that way. Nobody would be able to harm her, at least not without witnesses. If she was going to be killed, she might as well go out with a small chance of justice.
“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t even try,” Richard said with a sneer, just as three of his men ran forward and gripped her by the arms. Richard approached, heaving a heavy mallet that he had every intention of slamming her over her head with unceremoniously.
Suddenly, the entire apartment was shaking and full of heat. Everybody cringed and looked toward the gigantic window near the balcony, where a huge black dragon was flapping its tremendous wings and roaring. He lunged through the window, shattering the glass and tearing up part of the drywall. Krista was terrified, but if this was the same dragon that had saved her from these men before, she would just have to worry about her rent deposit later.
“Damn you!” Richard exclaimed, turning toward the dragon and reaching into the holster at his side. Before he had a chance to aim his weapon, Clayton smacked it away from him, using one of his gigantic talons to slice through Richard’s arm. The gun and the hand fell to the floor, and Richard shrieked.
“Kill him!” Richard said, staring at the little stub where his hand used to be. “Show no mercy. And get the girl out of here.”
Instantly, the apartment was an inferno and men were screaming and running in all directions. Most of them had their clothes scorched and on fire, and were running toward the entrance of the apartment building in hopes of escape. Krista ducked away from them, doing her best to avoid both the men and the flames. She was terrified, but she had to keep her bearings or else she could die.
Soon, all the men had vacated the apartment, and none of them dared to come back. Krista put a cloth over her face, reluctant to go out into the hallway where the evil men would surely be waiting for her. She didn’t know what to do. There seemed to be no chance for an escape. She was pretty sure she was going to die. But would she rather die in a raging fire or at the hands of the terrible men?
Before she had a chance to decide, a dark figure approached her. It wasn’t a huge dragon. It was a man, a rippling and muscular man. Krista’s eyes widened as he approached her, pushing his long black hair out of his face. She was surprised to realize that he was completely nude, and he looked exactly like the man that she had seen earlier in the day, before she had gone to work.
“I must be dreaming,” she laughed, shamelessly drinking him in from head to foot. He was even more beautiful naked than he had been fully clothed. He looked as if he spent all of his time doing strenuous physical activity. She couldn’t believe how well-sculpted he was. She had secretly envisioned the perfect man at times, when she was lying in bed late at night, letting her hands explore her sensitive, aroused body, but she was a virgin and had only been able to imagine someone half as handsome to steal that virginity away. Her eyes lingered on his exposed groin for a moment – he was impressively well-endowed – and she was blushing deeply before he spoke.
“Come with me Krista,” he said, offering his broad hand to her.
“Who are you?” she asked, but she wasn’t able to make out his reply. The smoke had become too much, and she passed out in his arms.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Clayton was able to catch Krista before she hit the ground. He lifted her up in his strong arms and knew that he had to get her out of the flames. It had been a dangerous and risky move to blow fire at the attackers, but he didn’t care how many of them he killed. He felt a little bad about destroying her home, but, he thought glumly, it would have been even better to kill all of them rather than allow Krista to become captured by such evil men. He knew that it wasn’t the greatest solution, but if he had to make the choice, killing her would be more merciful than allowing her to become one of their experiments.
Fortunately, he had gotten there just in time. She had seen him, and now, if he didn’t get her out of there, she would die. He transformed back into his dragon form and launched himself out the window, gripping Krista tightly in his claws. He couldn’t let her escape or become more vulnerable to the attacks of the Guardians.
As he flew through the sky and Kaldernon became visible, he let himself relax a little and allowed his mind to wander back to the way Krista had stared at his body. The unmistakable hunger in her eyes had deeply aroused him, and he clutched her warm body to himself tightly, hoping that she was going to be okay.
Everybody was excited and confused when Clayton reappeared from the sky with Krista in his clutches. He lowered her down gently, handing her off to some of the other shifters that he trusted. She was still passed out, and they decided that it would be best to take her immediately to the medics. Clayton collapsed onto the ground, sighing as he shifted back into his human form. It had been very emotionally taxing to encounter the Guardians again. All he could think about once the panic was over were his terrible memories of that night that he lost his father.
Eventually, he went back into the underground tunnels and crawled up on his bed. He needed to sleep, and it. It had been far too long since he had slept well. But he was still so excited and full of adrenaline from the encounter with the Guardians that all he could do was toss and turn and worry about whether or not Krista was going to be all right. She had mostly fainted out of shock, he was sure of this, but it was still dangerous for her to have any type of smoke inhalation. And being in the underground meant that the air quality might not be as good.
With that thought, he forced himself to stand up and head out to where the medics had taken Krista. He expected to find her still asleep, and was surprised when he realized that she was wide awake and very alert. All of the shifters around her were smiling patiently and nodding as she asked impossible questions to them. One of the medics grinned and pushed Clayton toward her.
“She has been asking for you,” he said, seeming grateful for a chance to escape from Krista’s intense questioning.
Clayton suddenly felt nervous. He had never expected to be alone in a room with Krista before. But soon, everybody was backing away and leaving them alone together. Krista was staring at him, her eyes an intense shade of blue. True to Loni fashion, her eyes seemed to change with her mood. Her expression was serious, if not brazen, and she let her eyes roam him once again, taking him in with his cloak on and obviously deciding that she liked him the other way better. He had to grin; she was exactly how he had pictured she would be.
“So what in the hell is going on exactly?” she asked him, wasting no time. She excited herself and began to cough, and Clayton frowned. He poured a glass of water for her and brought it to her bedside, sitting do
wn heavily on a stool beside her bed.
“I don’t know how much of this you would believe, or even how much of it you would like to hear.”
“Oh trust me,” Krista said with a gleam in her eye, “I want to hear everything.”
Clayton squirmed for a moment as he tried to figure out where to begin. He always thought that it would be easy to explain to her what had happened and how important she was to their clan, but now that he was being put to the test, the words seemed to fail him.
“Okay, then why don’t you let me start,” Krista said, fingering her chin. “Why is it that I recognize you? Why have you been following me? And why are those guys trying to kill me?”
“I don’t think they’re trying to kill you,” Clayton said. “But if they did catch you, I think that you would quickly be wishing for death. What they would do to you is far worse than killing you.”
“What do you mean? And who are you, anyway?”
“My name is Clayton, and I know that your name is Krista. Now, those people know your name, too. And I don’t think that is a good thing.”
“Well, obviously not, if that means that they can find me wherever I go,” Krista said with a frown.
“Yes, they probably could now. But you’re a lot safer here with us than you are in your own apartment.”
“Oh my gosh, my apartment…All of my things. They’re probably all burnt to a crisp by now,” Krista said, laying her head back into her pillow heavily. “Do you know how hard it is to find the perfect wardrobe? You guys really owe me for that.”
“I’m sorry,” Clayton said, trying to hide his smile. “I may have acted a little rashly, but I wasn’t sure how else to protect you.”
“Well, I guess it’s better than being stuck with those guys. They are pretty cruel,” Krista said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Clayton said, his face growing hard. The change in his mood was obvious, and Krista looked up, her face bright with intrigue.
“I take it you don’t like them very much either,” Krista said with a tight smile.
“They killed my father,” Clayton said, brooding toward the doorway.
“Then what makes you think they don’t want to kill me?” Krista said, her face suddenly worried again.
“Because you are useful to them,” Clayton told her. “And actually, you are useful to us as well. But this is going to be very difficult for you to understand and for me to explain.”
“Whenever something is hard for me, I’ll just start at the beginning,” Krista said, “and plow my way through.”
“Well, in the beginning of my tale, there was Kaldernon,” Clayton said thoughtfully. “That’s where we came from. Everybody in my clan. And your ancestors as well.”
“My ancestors? All of my ancestors died on a boat, everything else from then on has been just sheer luck that my bloodline was able to last this long.”
“Well, I know something about your bloodline that you don’t, and that is, where the source of this anguish originated. I can show it to you if you’d like. But it’s a very special place that most people can’t see. However, I know that you have probably realized that you have greater senses than most other people by now. And your gift for song.”
Krista looked up at him sharply. She didn’t think she liked the fact that he knew about her singing.
“I’m nothing special,” she said edgily.
“I beg to differ,” Clayton said. Krista raised her eyebrow at him but said nothing. He was a very attractive man, and it felt nice to be complimented. But it could also just be crazy talk and flattery to keep her from guessing what was really going on. Which was what exactly? She still had no clue.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Actually, you are very special. You come from the same land that that my clan is from. We have been stuck on this planet for many generations. It was a mistake that we ever came to Earth. Only the people who are from our world can see Kaldernon. Many people can’t even see us, just because they are so convinced that nothing of the sort could exist.”
“So who are you, anyway?” Krista asked, desperate for answers.
“We are dragon shifters,” Clayton said. “I think that you saw me turn into a dragon more than once by now. So this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.”
“I saw a little more than that,” Krista said, raising her eyebrows comically at the memory of his perfect, naked body approaching her in all its glory at her apartment. He was ridiculously handsome, and the memory was one she had a feeling she would treasure.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said, pursing his lips with an amused smile.
“I’m not,” Krista said with a grin. Clayton’s face reddened and he looked down at the floor. She laughed, finding it funny and adorable that she could make this fierce and handsome man blush.
“Anyway, your bloodline is special. My clan is waning and only people from our own world can help us to repopulate. After this generation of shifters is gone, we will be gone forever, never having found a way back to our own world.
“The Guardians who are after you know that you are able to carry dragon shifter children, and they think that your blood will help them to open and close the portals between dimensions. They are obsessed with eradicating anything remotely mystical and interplanetary. They want to keep Earth pure, they say, and will resort to ceaseless and heartless bloodshed whenever possible to get the job done.”
“Wait a minute,” Krista said as she held her hand up and looked him in the eye. “Are you trying to tell me that because of some kind of special blood I have, from some other dimension, I can make dragon babies?”
“Something like that,” Clayton said, letting a smile crease his face. He had a dimple on his left cheek and Krista gazed at the way his gorgeous face lit up when he smiled. His deep voice was calm and soothing, but Krista still found the entire situation a little bit too ludicrous for her taste.
“I think you guys are insane, and whatever holy war you think I’m in the middle of, I think it’s ridiculous. I’d like to go home,” Krista said. Whether he was handsome or not, she wanted to get the hell out of there.
“It’s not safe for you out there. You saw for yourself what they were trying to do. They aren’t going to stop until they get you.”
“Maybe they think that I died in the fire. I know I thought I was going to,” Krista said, her face an ashy color.
“They’re going to know that you’re safe, but they don’t know where you are. They will assume that you are here, I’m sure, but they know better than to sneak up on a dragon’s den.”
“Wait, back up. Are you trying to tell me that everybody here is a dragon?” Krista said, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. “Even that doctor who helped me to breathe better?”
“Well, we are born dragons, and are able to shift into a more practical form. Can you imagine what kind of famine we would experience if we were dragons all the time? We would eat so much that nothing would be left of the planet,” Clayton said with a laugh. “I already have quite a healthy appetite.”
“So you chose to look this devastatingly handsome?” she ventured boldly.
“I – no. I favor my mother, actually.”
What a question, he thought, trying to think about anything other than his arousal. The woman was certainly brazen.
“I see. So you’re a pretty boy.”
There was an awkward silence before she allowed herself to fall into a fit of musical laughter. Clayton laughed with her, his eyes brightening. They gazed at each other for a moment and when they were quiet again, the silence between them seemed full of life. He never would have guessed how much he would love talking with Krista. She was enigmatic and intriguing. Not only that, but she was extremely beautiful. He could look at her all day long, and in fact, he had been doing just that for quite a while.
“I’m afraid you have to stay here for a while, at least until the coast is clear. We will help you find somewhere comfortable to stay once it seems safe en
ough. But I really hope that you will choose to stay with us. Maybe you could find happiness within our clan.”
“Yeah, right,” Krista said with a grin. “You guys just want me to make babies for you.”
“Well, that would be convenient,” Clayton said with a laugh. “But really, we realized that we can’t force you to have a child with one of us. We know how primitive that would be. You have a choice here, but I really hope that you choose to get to know us a little bit before you make up your mind.”
“All right,” Krista said, “I guess we can see how things go. I’m pretty sure I’m having some kind of nightmare anyway, so it doesn’t really matter either way.”
Clayton chuckled and stood up, curving his lips into a sexy smile. He nodded at her and headed toward the entrance of the room.
“Well, you cope with this however you need to. We’ll keep you safe until there’s another option. Maybe I can show you Kaldernon once you’re feeling better. As for now, I’m going to get some sleep. I’m long overdue.”
Krista nodded at him, watching him with curious eyes as he moved gracefully out of the room. Her eyes lingered on his taught, muscular body, and suddenly she knew what men meant when they said: I love that ass. She laughed softly to herself, shaking her head in bemusement. What in the world had she gotten herself into?
Everything that he was telling her sounded so outlandish and ridiculous. But, for some reason, she felt like he was telling her the truth. Something deep down inside resonated with him, and she decided that, at least for now, she was going to trust him. And not just because he was pretty.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
About a week later, Krista was standing up and able to breathe without any problems at all. It had felt like she had a terrible case of bronchitis, but now that her lungs and throat were feeling better, she was curious about the strange place that the handsome man had taken her to.
Shifter Romance: BODHI (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 4) Page 126