Stryker: Dragon Protectors

by Benton, Ava

  Damn. I needed to stop this. I needed to stop kissing her before the fragile thread of my self-control snapped. Breaking the kiss, I dropped my hand away from her silken hair and backed off. Even the few inches between us didn’t help. My whole body had pulled out of slumber and every nerve popped off. My body demanded more, but I pulled myself together.

  I needed a distraction. So I pulled my phone out and handed it to her. She stared at it, then at me, her lips red and damp from our kiss. Confusion filled her lovely features and her sweet brown eyes searched for answers in my face.

  I dialed the number of the room I’d booked for them but didn’t hit the green icon to actually complete the call.

  “Talk to your parents.” I’d sworn to her that her last words to her father wouldn’t be the one’s she’d spoken. This neatly kept that promise without doing anything dangerous or stupid that might give away where they were or give away Kat’s location

  “Don’t tell them where you are.” I knew my phone was clean, but I lived under the philosophy that you could never be too careful.

  Her lip trembled. “Are you….” She cleared her throat as if that would bring her voice above a whisper. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. You’re not a prisoner. You need to talk to them, so do it.”

  She blinked, then shook her head. “I didn’t mean to imply I think I’m a prisoner—I know I’m not—”

  “Talk to them.” I shoved the phone into her hands and she took it. Her hands shook so hard she almost dropped it and the screen chose that second to shut off. She glanced up at me in shock

  “The screen just shut off. It’s okay.” I turned it back on and she gave me an embarrassed smile.

  “Sorry, my phone is a crappy old thing. No touch screen or anything.”

  I reached out and touched the green phone icon and motioned for her to put it to her ear. She did so and her eyes lit up as it rang in her ear.

  “More coffee?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “It’ll give me the shakes. Hi, Dad!”

  I stood up and walked into the kitchen for more coffee as she asked him how they were doing.

  I took a deep breath and filled my cup with piping hot coffee and tried to wrestle my thoughts into order. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I brought a fist down on the cold granite counter. It was fucking stupid to kiss her.

  But what’s done is done. I needed to keep it professional moving forward. No matter how good she smelled. No matter how turned on she was, or how ready her body promised to be for me. It didn’t matter that she clearly felt the same attraction to me I felt toward her. I needed to treat her like a client, not a potential lover.

  Fuck, though, that kiss… Sure, she had no idea what she was doing, but the woman had guts. I picked up my coffee and headed into the living room to see if she needed some support.

  She glanced up at me, a smile toying at her lips. “That’s great, Dad! I’m glad you’re both doing well. Look, I wanted to say I’m sorry.” She paused, her eyes filling with tears. “No, it’s not alright.”

  She paused again and I sat down across the coffee table from her. I wanted to be close, but not too close. Not so close I could reach out and touch her because I just might do it.

  “Nothing gives me the right to talk to you like that. Not even being stressed out. You’re my dad. I owe you respect.” Twin tears slipped down her cheeks and she stared at the floor, looking more miserable than I’d ever seen her. And I’d seen her at some pretty low points.

  “No, you’re a great dad.” She paused again as if he’d cut her off. “Dad…” Her tears flowed a bit faster.

  And I heard him this time. “I’ve been a shit father to you and a terrible husband. I’ve put everything on you and that’s wrong.”

  Her chin quivered and tears rained off it into her lap. Against my better judgment, I knew she needed me. So I moved next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Pulling her close, I felt her melt into me.

  “When I get home, I’m getting a job. I’m going to help you figure this out. We should be working together, not against one another.” He sounded firm.

  “Okay.” The word rasped out of her throat like flint and I ran a hand up and down her arm, trying to silently convey that I was here if she needed me. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too. Want to talk to your mother?”

  She shook her head and I was struck by how cute her gesture was even though the person she was talking to couldn’t see her. “No, let her rest. No need to wake her.”

  “Okay honey. I’ll tell her you called and that you’re doing well. Have fun with the new man in your life.”

  I stiffened up.

  Kat laughed nervously. “Whatever, Dad. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  She pulled the phone away from her ear and touched the red phone icon on the screen before glancing over at me. “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re very welcome. So it sounds like they’re doing well.”

  She nodded, then fingered a stray thread on the couch. “Mom’s eating. She’s been smiling and happy.”

  Those seemed like good things to me, but I sensed something eating at her, so I stayed quiet. If she needed to vent, she was welcome to do so.

  “Maybe all along she needed something like this. Some care. A nice trip, a vacation. Her husband clean and sober. And attentive.” That sense of guilt weighed visibly on her shoulders and I pulled her close again.

  “You can’t do that to yourself.” My heart ached for all the things she had to hold inside and carry. The weight of all of it had to be backbreaking, yet here she was, still managing all on her own.

  I wondered what kind of conversations I’d have with my parents if they were still here. I wondered if they’d be proud of my choices, if they’d think I was doing the right thing. I wondered if they’d like Kat. I had a feeling they’d love her dearly and reprimand me for not doing more to help ease her burden. Being human had been important to my parents. Compassion ran deep in our family.

  “What are you thinking about right now?” She asked, pulling me out of my painful thoughts.

  “My parents.”

  Her expression dropped a bit and her red-rimmed eyes watered a little bit more. “I’m sorry. It’s heartbreaking that you don’t have them.”

  “Thank you for not asking what happened to my brother.”

  She didn’t pry and I did appreciate it. I’d handled my fair share of people that demanded answer or thought I owed them my life’s story. She wasn’t one of them.

  “If you want to talk about it, you’ll decide when. Until then, I’ll be patient. Even if you never tell me.” Her lips curved into a delicate smile and she leaned in, her eyes on mine.

  Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes darted to my mouth before sweeping back up to meet my gaze again. I could feel her holding her breath and instinctively knew she wanted me to kiss her. Or she was thinking about kissing me.

  Either way, I needed to shut this the fuck down.

  I turned my head and sat upright. Letting go of her, I leaned over to pick up my coffee. “So what would you like to do today?” I asked as I took a sip of the boiling hot liquid, praying I’d averted disaster.

  11

  Kat

  What did I want to do today?

  “I want you to show me everything.”

  His head whipped around, and he choked on his coffee before blinking at me. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the hot coffee. “What?” he asked.

  Good. He was thinking bad thoughts too. I was a virgin, but I wasn’t a stranger to sexual innuendo. I couldn’t kiss, but I’d read enough books and seen enough movies to know how to phrase things to get males to show their interest… or lack thereof.

  I flashed an evil grin. “Yeah, show me everything. I’ve never been here, and you said there was kayaking and all kinds of stuff to do out here in the middle of nowhere.” I furrowed my eyebrows. “You know, there aren’t an
y neighbors. Think I could swim naked in the lake? Or would it be too cold?” I arched an eyebrow at him.

  His expression darkened with desire as I spoke, and I dragged my tongue across my lower lip. His eyes followed the motion, then ticked back to mine. “Show… me.” I whispered the words.

  His eyes narrowed and a low growl left his throat. My heart thundered in my ears as he leaned in and kissed me. Excitement grew to a hum in my lower belly and I whimpered as his tongue invaded my mouth.

  The first kiss had been so delicate, so gentle. This one was not.

  His lips were rough on mine and the stubble on his face scratched my skin. Overwhelming need rose up in me and I wanted more. I’m not sure what more I wanted, but I needed more. His tongue entered and left my mouth in a primal motion that turned my thoughts to sex. Dragging in a deep breath through my nose, I prayed I wouldn’t faint in his arms.

  My heart hammered inmy chest and my hands shook, so I gripped his shoulders to hide my trembling. He leaned into me harder until I was nearly lying back on the couch. My legs parted and my cheeks burned because I knew it looked like I knew what I was doing even though I was working on instinct alone.

  With a growl, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead on mine. His rusty eyes, hazy and filled with heat, met mine. “I want you.”

  “I want you too.” I whispered the words while running my fingertips though the hair at his temples. With both palms on either side of his scalp, I tilted my head and pressed my lips to his. Again, that white-hot excitement surged through me.

  But again, he pulled away. This time, though, he retreated much further. I sat up on the couch as he stood and backed off a step, shoving his hands through his hair. His eyes met mine and I tried to catch my breath as wave after wave of desire crashed over me. Goose bumps raced up and down my arms and I knew my cheeks had to be bright red with how much they stung.

  Suddenly, he stepped closer to me and scooped me up in his arms.

  I couldn’t speak as he carried me to the bedroom he’d slept in the night before. He turned and sat on the edge of the bed with me in his arms, cradled to his chest. He kissed me and I pulled away. I didn’t like the awkward feeling of being immobile. I wanted to be an active participant in this new adventure, not a passive bystander.

  With his lips still on mine, I stood up. This whole action was something new stacked on something newer and I giggled as I struggled out of my shirt while his tongue tickled my lower lip.

  His hands helped me, and I broke the kiss to stand up straight. He helped me out of my bra, and I stood there, topless before him as he drank in the sight of me. I fought the urge to cross my arms and cover up, but he pulled me close.

  “You’re fucking beautiful.” He pulled me into his lap, but I backed off again. I wanted more. I wanted this. And I’d prove it.

  I tucked my thumbs into the waistband of my pants and rocked my hips to help myself out of them. They dropped around my ankles and I stepped out of them. My panties followed and my cheeks blazed.

  He stood up and my heart leaped. But instead of getting undressed like I expected him to do, he took my shoulders and guided me to the bed. I dropped onto it and he knelt at the edge of the bed. Before I could protest, his lips were on me.

  Stunned by the sudden burst of sensations, I relaxed back onto the soft bedspread. The heat of his lips and the way his tongue slid on my slickness left me panting for breath. I didn’t know what to do, so I just lost myself in the pleasure, the surprise sensations of his super-heated tongue on my delicate parts.

  Suddenly he began to focus on one spot and pleasure began to scream through me. My belly tightened right up, and I almost choked on a gasp as he reached up and palmed my breast with one hand. His fingers rolled my nipple and spots swam before my eyes. The intensity of all of it crushed the breath right out of me and bright lights lit up my vision.

  He let out a grumble of approval and the vibration pushed me off an invisible cliff. My whole body tightened like a steel trap before pleasure rippled through my belly and spread outward like the circles on the surface of water after a stone is thrown in.

  Little moans broke over my lips and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t quiet down. He gave me one long lick and pressed a damp kiss to the sensitive nub he’d been teasing with his tongue.

  Disappointment filled me. We weren’t done, were we?

  He stood up and peeled his shirt off. For the first time I actually saw the thick, corded muscles of his body. My mouth dropped open. He wasn’t slim and wiry, he was built like a wrestler. Big, bulky, powerful with muscles everywhere. He walked to the bedside table and took out a little box. Condoms. My cheeks stung. This was actually going to happen!

  His eyes didn’t leave mine as he unbuttoned his pants. I kept my eyes above the belt as he undressed completely before me.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I don’t care.” I licked my lips. I wanted this. If it hurt a bit, so what? I was more excited than scared.

  He sat on the edge of the bed next to me and opened the condom and unrolled it over himself with a steady hand. His hands then found my hips and he guided me onto his lap, holding himself at the right angle while looking me in the eyes.

  “This gives you more control.”

  I adjusted. With both knees outside his legs, I lowered on him a bit. The pressure of him forcing my body to stretch excited me even more and I let my weight pull me down slowly. His hands slid from my hips to press flat to my lower back and I wound my arms around him. With him upright like this, I could cling to him and I did.

  His lips met mine and I opened for his tongue. The overwhelming pressure inside me ached a bit, but the sensations were incredible. Inch by inch, I took him until I settled flush in his lap. My hips bucked and the thrill screamed through me. I knew it was supposed to feel good, but damn this was incredible!

  I moved against him, bucking forward as he held onto me. His lips left mine to touch my shoulder, followed by his velvety warm tongue. With every motion, my breasts bounced against his chest, every touch a shocking jolt of pleasure that bolted right between my hips.

  With every motion my body built toward something incredible, something intense, something perfect.

  He slid a hand up my side, up my ribs and cupped my breast in his hand. His fingers tightened around my nipple and I tossed my head back and cried out. Suddenly, his mouth closed over my nipple and he suckled deeply.

  Everything crashed and my body clamped down tightly around him. He let out a groan, but I lost myself to the flood of pleasure and heart-pounding excitement that echoed off every nerve ending in my body and curled my toes. My fingertips dug into his shoulders and I clung to him again as my hips tried to keep moving. Shudder after shudder rolled through me and all the tight muscles suddenly sprang loose almost painfully.

  Every spam within me snapped so tight I gasped and gulped into breath after breath, struggling not to pass out in his arms. His hands found my hips, his fingertips digging in so hard I wondered if there would be bruises there tomorrow. Not that I minded.

  He pressed his forehead to mine, and I tilted my head. Our lips met, then our tongues and his hands pressed my hips down hard as he thrust up into me. A cry broke out of my throat and he swallowed the sound.

  Heat filled my belly and goose bumps broke out all up and down my arms, across my chest and down my back. My motions slowed to a halt and I suddenly realized how sore my muscles were. I leaned into him and he braced back with one hand behind him on the bed, leaving us both in a mostly-upright position.

  “That was incredible,” I whispered.

  “You’re incredible.”

  My lips curved into a pleased smile. “Thank you.”

  He kissed me again, then shifted. I lifted a bit and he stood up and walked out of the room as I collapsed on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

  Things were looking up for me. My parents were safe. My mom was better. And happy. My dad still loved me after I’
d been cruel.

  But things had changed, too. I was falling hard and fast for a freaking dragon. A dragon that had been kind to me for no reason other than that he’s a good guy. A dragon that had let me feel, that hadn’t made a big deal of my stupid innocence.

  Something creaked and I glanced up to find him leaning on the doorframe, looking at me with a smile on his handsome face.

  “I was a virgin,” I said, wanting to answer the question he’d asked. “Because I didn’t have time for a relationship.” There. Answered. I sat up, pulling the blanket up around myself in a sudden need for some sense of modesty.

  His eyes narrowed. “I like looking at you.”

  Every drop of saliva in my mouth dried up and I let the blanket slip down into a puddle around me. I wanted him to look at me.

  12

  Stryker

  The air around us changed; like that feeling when a thunderstorm is coming. Air pressure rises, the temperature drops, and the crackle of static in the air is enough to make the hairs on my arms stand up.

  Our time was up. Fuck.

  “I need you to get dressed.”

  Hurt exploded in her eyes and she pulled the blanket up around her sexy, naked body. Fuck, I’d just had her and I wanted her again. Her wide eyes locked on me and she bit down on her lower lip as if to keep from crying.

  “Stay in here.” I needed to know she’d be safe as the air closed in and tightened every inch of my skin. “Tell me you’ll stay in and stay safe.”

  Panic filled her expression and I knew I was out of time. I turned and closed the door behind myself. Breaking into a quick jog, I rushed toward the front door.

  “Yo, what you doing here?” I tried to keep calm while Draco circled. His opalescent blue hide popped into existence and he quickly landed. He shifted, his blue eyes narrowing on me.

  “What are you doing here?” He sounded suspicious and he tilted his head slightly. “Who’s in the house?”