Wings of Fire (Protected by Dragons Book 2)

by G. Bailey

  "They are going to ground me for life, anyway,” she says to Harris with a huff and looks back at me, “so, do you have a boyfriend?" she asks, clearly not concerned about her parents, and I look her over now. She has the same light-brown hair as Harris and matching blue eyes, that are lighter than most. I would guess she is around sixteen, making her way too young to be here. She is wearing a purple dress that is as short as mine but makes her look a hell of a lot older than she is. I can see why Harris’ parents are going to be mad. I’m guessing the amount of makeup she has on isn’t going to help her case. She doesn’t need it, though, I can see under it all that she is very pretty.

  "No. I'm escaping a bad date, actually," I mutter as she laughs.

  "Harris should ask you out, he wouldn't be a bad date," she winks, and I see Harris blush.

  "I'm not dating anymore, but if I was, Harris would be a good choice," I say gently, letting them both down easily.

  "You should change your mind. You’re really pretty." She sighs, finally turning around. Harris asks for the address, so I give it to him before opening my phone. I'm surprised not to see any messages from Alex, I send her a quick one:

  Date was awful, shame the hot ones are always crazy. I got a lift home. I will see you tomorrow. Love you xx

  I missed out on the start of the argument, as I was texting, but from Harris’s angry face he isn’t happy.

  “There are loads of them around right now, Katy. I don’t want to find you sneaking out again.” He shouts leaving me to wonder what he is talking about. Katy is looking tense in her seat at whatever it is.

  “I know. But, I never get to leave the pack,” she says looking out the window with a long sigh. I’m sure that I see tears in her eyes as she picks her nails, looking worried.

  “It won’t always be like this, but please, for me, don’t leave again without one of us.” He stares at her through the mirror, and I see her lower her gaze quickly.

  “I promise,” Katy says with a frown, and Harris nods, looking back at the empty road. I watch as he turns to look at me, and a grin lights up his face when he sees what I’m wearing. Typical guy, but at least he has the common sense to look back at the road after a second, not voicing his opinion.

  “What’s a pack?” I ask clearing my throat and hopefully my red cheeks from Harris’s stare. I remember reading about packs of wolves in class, but I don’t think they are talking about that. Maybe it’s some kind of gang or a name of a house, I don’t want to guess because I’m sure I’m going to come up with something worse than what it actually is. I glance at Harris who isn’t answering my question, so I repeat myself.

  “Oh, it’s nothing important,” Harris says quickly, all the while he is glaring at Katy like a parent whose kid just told someone a big secret of theirs. I glance back at Katy, who looks very guilty, as she shrugs at me, and avoids looking at Harris at all. This night is proving to be all kinds of confusing, and I’m pretty sure forgetting it is the easier way. No one says anything else while we drive home, and a tense silence descends on the car.

  "Are you going to be okay to walk in? I don't think I can get in the car park with the gate down,” Harris looks at me, as he stops on the road outside my building. The whole building is close to the university, so it has to be on lock down after a certain time, and you can only walk in, past a locked gate. I’m lucky the gate’s broken, so you don’t need a key to get in. Well, unlucky in certain ways because it means anyone can get in.

  "Yeah, I'll walk in. The gate is open,” I say to Harris, and he nods, watching me closely like he wants to say something, but I get out of the car before he can.

  "Bye Katy, and good luck with your parents," I say through the open window, and I laugh, hearing her grumble before I move away from the car. I wave them both off before opening the broken gate to the locked car park, the door is slightly open anyway from our neighbours. The car park is almost as big as the building in length, and you have to walk across the whole thing to get to my building. My building has three flats, on three levels, and we have the bottom one. The car park is empty, besides my car and one other. I walk slowly; only the dim lights of the street lamps near the building are lighting my path, showing me where I’m going. In the distance, I notice a big, dark shape lying next to my car, near the door to my building. I run over quickly, my footsteps being the only noise in the dark night. I’m hoping the person is okay and pull my phone out of my bag as I run, to call an ambulance, but as I get closer I see it’s a wolf.

  Could my night get any more weird?

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  Excerpt from Strip for Me…

  Ellie, Ellie, Ellie . . . did you forget about me?" Drew asks me as he walks closer. He walks slowly, giving me time to look at him. Drew has always been handsome, in a cold way. It’s what attracted me to him in the first place, the ice-blue eyes. It was the perfect suits and built body underneath. It was the blond hair and handsome face. But, it’s all a lie to hide the jerk underneath. His eyes watch me closely, as my heart feels like it’s pounding against my chest. I don’t think he would hurt me, but I don’t know him. I have a feeling I never did. I don't reply to him as he moves to stand in front of me, his hand going to touch my bump.

  I slap his hand away and move backwards, my back hitting the wall near the stairs. I put my hands on my bump, feeling protective of my baby. There is no way I’m letting him touch me there.

  "That was rude," he says with a cold laugh. His laugh seems to echo around the room. My eyes glance to my phone, the call is on, and Todd must be listening to our conversation. At least, I hope he is.

  "You’re not touching me or my baby," I say. I keep my voice surprisingly calm, compared to how I’m feeling inside anyway. I don’t want him to know how much he is scaring me.

  "I don't want to touch that bastard child, but I want my wife back," he says, narrowing his eyes at me when I laugh a little. I don’t believe him.

  "Not happening, asshole," I say, walking sideways towards the stairs with every word. If I can get to the stairs and run up, I’ll find a bedroom and lock myself in until Todd gets here. It’s clear to me now that Drew put Dom in jail because he wanted to get me alone. I bet he planned all of this. Why won’t he leave me alone? It makes no sense because he left me alone at home all the time when we were together.

  "I'll tell you what, Ellie," he says, sliding his hands into his pockets.

  “You don’t get to tell me anything, anymore,” I say, holding my ground. I spent years listening to him telling me what to do, what to wear, what to cook him, and the list just goes on and on. I won’t be that person ever again. I want a life, with the men I love.

  "I'm going to give you four months, Ellie, four months to make the right decision and then come to me," he says. The way he says it, it’s like he expects me to come to him. Holy ducks, he is crazy.

  "You are bloody crazy, Drew!" I shout at him.

  "Not even one little bit, and I did you a favour, you can thank me later," he laughs.

  "If your favour was getting Dom arrested, it won't last," I say as he moves closer to me, terror slamming through my body when I look into his eyes once more.

  "That was a distraction to get you alone," he says and laughs louder. The laugh is so cold, it’s frightening.

  My heart pounds against my chest as I watch him walk away and leave the house. I scramble after him and lock the door.

  I place my hand on my bump, worry filling every part of me.

  What was his favour?

  —

  Three months earlier . . .

  Two drinks?" I ask Liz as loud as I can as she hands me two fruity looking cocktails. I haven't drunk anything in years, so this is a lot for me.

  "Yes, your divorce went through! We are celebrating!" Liz shouts over the music of the club. I laugh and silently agree with her, I'm finally free. I got married when I was eighteen, and it was the stupidest thing I ever did. No one is old enough to get married at eighteen and
actually know the person they are marrying. Sure, it might have worked for someone else, but not for me. For me, it just ended up in tears, my tears not his.

  No, his tears were lost somewhere inside of the secretary he was fucking. Why is it always the secretary?

  I quickly drink the two fruity drinks and look around the bar. I haven't had sex in four years, four years of watching my husband snoring next to me and only staying with him because I thought I loved him. Hell, I have no idea what love is. The closest I think I've come to seeing it is my parents who have been married for twenty years. Even then, I think they just basically ignore each other, and that’s how they have gotten so far without trying to kill each other.

  "Come and dance, you’re twenty-six, and you need to get laid!" Liz pulls my arm and voices my inner thoughts. It's a sign we have known each other way too long.

  I let Liz pull me to the packed dance floor, the smell of alcohol and sweaty bodies filling my senses. I remember why I don’t like these places now. It's funny how you miss something that you didn’t actually like. I don’t think I will be missing my ex-husband any time soon, though. If I start to, I'm going to get Liz to hit me on the head with something heavy until some sense is knocked back into me.

  I move my body to the music, my top and skirt sticking to my back with the heat of all the bodies. I'm glad my hair is up in some complicated bun that I had done at the hairdressers. I don’t know how many clips are in it, but I know it’s going to take forever to get them all out. It only takes a minute or so of dancing before I feel hands sliding down around my waist. Liz was right, she bet that I would be hit on straight away. I'm not stupid enough to think I'm not attractive, but I'm nowhere near as stunning as Liz is. Pulling together all the courage I have, I turn to see the most attractive man I have ever seen.

  Sinful, blue eyes, golden skin, and golden, short hair. This man should not be dancing with a girl like me, he looks like he should be dancing with a supermodel or something.

  I let him pull me closer, our bodies swaying to the music, and I find out that he can really dance. I let him control the movements, following the music to a beat. I don’t think I have ever seen a man able to dance like this, I feel like we’re halfway to having sex, and he hasn’t even kissed me yet.

  One of his smooth, large hands slides up my back and to the back of my neck, holding me in place as he moves his head next to mine.

  His soft lips trail up my neck, across my jaw until our lips meet. The man only brushes his lips across mine until I push back with my own. He only needs that little encouragement as he takes my lips in a passionate embrace, and his hand finds the back of my head. I moan a little when he pulls me harder against his toned body, every hard part of him pushing against me. The man smells like alcohol and mint at the same time. It's intoxicating.

  "Come back to mine?" he asks in a whisper, a whisper that promises a night full of passion. Something I cannot ever remember having and something I really want, even with this hot stranger. I have only ever slept with one person in my life, and I want to explore. What’s better than a hot stranger to do that with?

  "Yes," I whisper back close to his ear. I have to stretch up on my tip toes to get close to his ear, but he keeps us swaying to the music as I do. He is so tall compared to me. The man takes my hand, and we walk out of the dancers. I briefly catch Liz's eyes by the bar, she winks at me and gives me a thumbs up. At least, I don't have to message her to let her know I'm leaving. The man wraps his arm around my waist as we get outside, and the cold air hits me. My very small, glittery top and long, tight, black skirt aren’t doing much to keep me warm. The man, whose name I don't know, takes his jacket off and wraps it around my shoulders as we walk the twenty or so steps to the taxi rank.

  "We don't know each other's names," I say, hesitating a little outside the taxi door the man holds open for me.

  "Andre, yours?" he asks. Andre's voice is deep and sounds so much more seductive outside the club.

  "Ellie," I say, and he smiles before he presses a gentle kiss on my lips. The man can kiss, that’s for sure.

  "Make your choice, Ellie," he says as he moves back. I choose to get into the taxi.

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