The Gift

by Brenda Trim

  She’d have sworn she was going back into a fertile cycle at the moment, but it was the way her knight affected her. Lorne was standing there and he’d made her feel that way before. A thought struck and she cocked her head as she considered it might not have been him because she was in full-blown heat mere days after meeting him. Maybe this was the first warning sign of impending disaster. She made a mental note to call her mother the second she got home. She have to return to the castle if that were the case.

  “Cambree. What are you doing here without a guard?” Lorne’s deep voice rumbled through her belly sending her suddenly overactive hormones into overdrive.

  “I’m on a date with Noah,” she replied. Not that Lorne would have been confused about that fact given how close Noah was standing to her. And, there go his hands again. She but back a growl and moved out of his reach. Unfortunately, that put her close to Lorne. And, his scent filled her nostrils adding to her torment.

  He isn’t attracted to you and sees you as a burden, she reminded her new-found horny dragoness. She’d immediately bee attracted to Lorne and wasn’t surprised when he reacted to her like males had her entire life…with indifference. Except he took it a step further and saw his position as her bodyguard beneath his status. It was his distaste for following her around that led to her being drug from the store. The hurt from unrequited attraction burned in her gut, but did nothing to lesson her attraction to the sexy máahes. And, he’s not good looking, she told herself. He’s as appealing as full-blown dragon pox.

  Liar, her dragon whispered. It was rare that she and her dragon communicated overtly like that. They were two sides of one being and acted accordingly. It was only in extreme cases like when she was attacked that her dragon spoke out and said something. Her dragon is the only reason she wasn’t raped before Lorne reached her. She gave Cambree courage enough to fight back.

  Lorne scowled at Noah and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t touch her again. You have no respect groping her in public like that. It’s males like you that give us a bad name,” Lorne practically snarled at Noah before he lowered his head and met her wide-eyed gaze. “Where is your guard? I know you know better after what happened.”

  The reminder had Cambree curling into his side for very different reasons. The fear over what that male wanted to do to her was vivid in her mind and woke her most night in a cold sweat. “Finn should be at the table, right there.” She turned and pointed to where he had been sitting, but found it empty.

  “The jackrabbit left his post,” Lorne said as he scanned the room. “What do you plan on doing now? Are you continuing your date?”

  Cambree shook her head sending her black curls bouncing against her shoulder. “No. I’m ready to go home. This was a mistake.”

  “There are better males for you,” Lorne informed her. Absurdly she wanted to challenge him and ask whom he thought was better for her, but her body trembled at the mere thought. No way could she say that. She waited for her dragon to add her two cents, but apparently she agreed.

  Lorne shook his head and took one step toward Noah. “It’s time for you to leave. Your date is over.”

  Noah opened his mouth to object when Lorne’s fingertips became talons and his breath left in huge puffs of smoke. Noah wisely put distance between them and muttered, “I had fun tonight, Cambree. We should do this again. I will see you tomorrow.”

  She watched Noah’s retreating back wondering what date he’d been on that he had fun. He hardly spoke to her except to ply her with compliments and stare at her boobs. She’d been bored to tears. Her usual routine of curling up on her couch with a good book and glass of penguin would have been far more enjoyable.

  “Are you going to be long, Lorne?” a female voice whined, startling Cambree.

  She turned around and flushed when she saw a gorgeous red-head standing with a pout on her full lips. Her arms were crossed pushing up her big boobs and, Cambree noted, her skirt wasn’t much below her perfect backside.

  “I’m doing my job, Trish,” Lorne snapped without looking at the female. “I’ll be done as soon as I find Finn.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to sit at my table until Finn comes back. Go back to your date.” Cambree felt like an idiot for the fantasies she had about Lorne. She was as far from his type as was possible.

  “I will not allow you to be harmed again. Trish, go grab a drink and I will be right there.” The female huffed and turned, but not before shooting Cambree a dirty look.

  “I’m not your responsibility, Lorne. I’m in a public place and I’m not you know right now so I am safe. I’m sure Finn just went to the bathroom. Go back to Trish,” Cambree said with as much force as she could. Too bad she sounded as ferocious as a kippie.

  Saving as much face as possible, Cambree left Lorne standing there and returned to her table then ordered a drink. She needed it after the night turned into a hot mess.

  Breath sawing in and out of his lungs, Lorne barely held back his dragon fire. As it was his exhalations were thick with dragon smoke. It had been centuries since he’d lost control of his smoke like this, but the anger at seeing Cambree once again vulnerable and on the wrong end of unwanted male attention set him off.

  What the fuck was Finn thinking leaving her alone? It was more than obvious to Lorne that Cambree had not welcomed the hands roving over her backside. Hell, he was shocked someone else didn’t intervene with the heavy fog her fear left on that dance floor. Residents of Khoth were better than that, he thought. Obviously, he’d been wrong about that as not one soul stepped up and told the idiot to leave Cambree alone. No doubt it was her silence. Onlookers wondered what was going on and if they should say something, but fucking hell. Since when was it okay to ignore fear of that magnitude?

  A soft hand traveled over Lorne’s shoulder, drawing his attention. He turned his head and met Trish’s green eyes. They glittered with barely repressed lust as she eyed him and handed over a glass of dragon piss. Khoth’s version of whiskey on earth, he learned. Angus shared information every day on the differences and similarities between the realms.

  Lorne waited for arousal to strike while he turned away from her and kept scanning the room. When it never came, he wondered if he was that angry at Finn for leaving Cambree unprotected. Yes, he thought, he was ready to rip the male a new asshole over this one.

  Lorne shook his head and downed the liquor. He was allowing his own failure with guarding Cambree to dictate his actions now and that wasn’t right. There was no way he could make his mistake up to the female. Worst of all, he didn’t blame her for her hatred of him. Because he relaxed his guard and treated the assignment more of a nuisance than a real position that warranted his full attention, this fragile female had possibly been raped.

  He had no way of knowing and couldn’t ask her or anyone else and that was killing him. If the worst had happened it explained her fear of Noah. It was Lorne’s fault she would likely never have a normal relationship with a male. Trauma like that didn’t simply disappear.

  “C’mon, Lorne. Let’s go back to your place,” Trish whined in his ear. She was standing on her tiptoes, kissing his neck and sensitive ear in an attempt to lure him to her bed.

  With his position as máahes, he rarely dated and Trish was no exception. He’d been out with her a couple times and readily gone to her bed. He recalled the pleasure she could provide and was dismayed when his shaft didn’t even twitch in response. She’d been wild and unrestrained and he’d enjoyed himself immensely, but now not even his dragon stirred.

  Fucking hell, he muttered under his breath. His mistake was costing him everything. He struggled to focus on patrol and was rarely all there during meetings. His mind inevitably went back to seeing Cambree with her torn shirt and tear stained face as she told him to stay away from her.

  Finn was easy to spot a second later as he towered a head above everyone else in the restaurant. His black hair shinning, the prole was winking at a group of females as he walke
d backwards onto the dance floor.

  “Forget it, Trish. It’s not happening tonight. Too much going on,” Lorne barked over his shoulder and kicked into gear, heading for Finn before his date could respond.

  He ignored Trish’s pleading words, “You could come over to my place after you’re done tonight.” When he kept walking without responding he heard her mutter bitterly before the crowd swallowed him and cut her off. “Is it about that ugly female? What does she have except being Tuya?”

  That was the question of the millennium, Lorne thought. What was it about Cambree that she attracted so many males? One thing that was undeniable to Lorne was that she smelled delectable. She was a delicious combination of ripe sherulla and fragrant orchillo. Why flowers and fruit were such an appealing combination, Lorne had no idea, but it made his chest ache and his stomach grumble. Even his recalcitrant cock twitched.

  Putting the contemplation out of his mind, he grabbed Finn roughly and tossed him into the back hall. “What the fuck are you thinking, scrote?” he snarled at his friend and fellow máahes.

  Finn pushed his shoulders, forcing Lorne to back up several steps and bared his teeth at him. “What is your problem, douche dick? Why are you pushing me and stopping me from doing my job? You really have it out for that poor little female like they say?”

  The mention of the rumor floating about the castle took Lorne’s anger to another level entirely. He was the only one looking out for Cambree. “You’d better watch your mouth and what you say. I’m the only one here watching out for Cambree while you were off doing the Gods only know what. While you are on guard duty is not the time to try and find a female to fuck. Your only thought should be about Cambree and her safety.”

  “Fuck you, prole. I went to take a piss and was gone for like two minutes. She’s fine and sitting at the table right now,” Finn confirmed after he looked over Lorne’s shoulder.

  “Shows what you know. She was all but raped on the dance floor only moments ago by her so-called date. You cannot assume she is safe with anyone,” Lorne growled low in his throat trying to tamp down the anger riding him hard. His hands clenched into fists and he nearly decked his long-time friend.

  “What?” Finn asked as his face lost all its color. “Where is he? I’ll kill the fucker.” None of the máahes would tolerate a male treating a female in such a manner. Here was the knight Lorne expected to see. He assumed Finn was slacking on the job when he was merely using the restroom.

  “I took care of it, but if I ever see you out of her sight again I will personally slice your balls off and feed them to the red caps at the border,” Lorne promised.

  “That female attracts trouble like the ocean does sea dragons. How the hell are we supposed to keep her safe if I can’t even go to the bathroom?”

  “Next time you hold it, prole.”

  “Or I could bring her with me,” Finn suggested. “We’ve gotten close over the time I’ve been assigned to her. Or, maybe I will ask her out. If she’s dating me we will know she’s safe.”

  “That’s not going to happen, jackwagon. She is not a painting or piece of clothing to be bought and sold. She will date whomever she chooses and you will not put your name in that ring. You are here to keep her safe from assholes like Noah, nothing more. She must trust you can do that. Am I clear?” Lorne demanded.

  Finn choked and coughed, making Lorne realize he’d grabbed the male by the throat and was holding him up against the wall with one hand. “Yes, sir. I will keep her safe, I swear.”

  “Good. Now, take her home,” Lorne ordered and stalked through the crowd and out the door. His vision had hazed and his fire burned his throat when Finn joked about putting his hat in the ring with Cambree. Lorne had no idea why but he was murderous at the thought.

  It had to be because Cambree deserved better than a male that left her vulnerable while it had been his duty to ensure her safety.

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