Billionaire Protector

by Kyanna Skye

  Moving, Kirin sat up and drew Rayna against him. She straddled him, moving slowly, up and down as he kissed her mouth. He licked and kissed her neck, drew his lips against her shoulders. The heat built slower, but Rayna felt it—her body’s progression towards the climax. The beginning of it was there. She felt her body tighten around him, her heartbeat growing slower but beating harder. Her lips dropped open as she took her breath.

  Shivers took hold of Rayna’s body, her breath caught in her throat. She came, and a few moments later, felt the burst of his cum inside her. Closing her eyes, she could dream of what it would be like to be with him always, sharing his affection and his heat.

  A single tear fell down her cheek as she considered the possibility that this could be their last time together.

  Chapter 11

  Another day passed, and when night came, Rayna and Kirin climbed out of the bomb shelter.

  Kirin insisted on going first. Rayna waited behind him breathlessly. She could feel air flowing through the opening.

  “What is it?” she whispered. He stood there for nearly a full minute. Goosebumps raised the skin on her arms and the back of her neck.

  “Come,” Kirin said, reaching back for her. “You have to see for yourself.”

  She climbed up the last two rungs to the basement floor of DynamicTech.

  Where there should have been a roof was nothing but open sky. The building was decimated. They stood among blackened remains of the building. All that was around them was ash and soot, remnants of the building’s frame. Shattered glass was scattered everywhere. For a while they stood shoulder to shoulder, neither able to speak. The glow of the moon cast an eerie glow over the destruction.

  Rayna cleared her throat. “Um. Well. I guess we know the bomb shelter works.”

  ***

  It took nearly a half hour to pick their way out of the wreckage of what was Dynamic Tech. Rayna couldn’t help but feel sadness. She thought of her poor little alien subjects: Johnny and Mimi. Unless her father managed to have them evacuated before the dragons leveled the place, they were surely dead. She doubted it would have even occurred to him. Gone was all of the information and technology which was under development at the site. The totality of the destruction was incredible. Much of what was made at the company was created out of research on aliens, from testing which was inhumane.

  As a scientist, she wasn’t sure if she should consider it a loss, or a good thing that those projects were now gone. She was saddened that any sentient being had to suffer for the progress of science.

  The destruction hand continued outside. Some of the cars were crushed, probably caught underfoot as the dragons walked. Other vehicles were burned into blackened shells. The cars at the perimeter of the lot had the least damage: singed paint and busted windows. Sagging yellow police tape was strung between light posts out on the street.

  “I wonder why there are no authorities around,” Kirin said.

  “My father has thought up some story to keep them away,” Rayna said. “They were here, but they left.”

  He nodded in agreement but didn’t reply. Rayna felt chilled despite the warm night air. Many cars remained, and she wondered which of their owners were perhaps in hospitals, or were dead in the twisted remains of the building. Kirin walked among the rows of cars until he found what he was looking for: a sedan with the keys still in the ignition. The driver’s side window was broken, but the rest were intact.

  “I think this is it,” he said. “Let’s hope we can make it up to the desert.”

  They slipped into the car. After he maneuvered out of the lot and onto the street. He reached for her, and Rayna slipped her hand into his. In the rearview, she watched the heap of black, twisted metal and wood that used to be her workplace, and the most important thing in her father’s life, disappear from view.

  ***

  Because they didn’t know if the police might be looking for them, or their vehicle, Kirin didn’t drive above the speed limit. Once they were on the freeway, they were stuck in traffic. Rayna had a growing sense of fear. She daydreamed about dragons crushing the cars ahead of them, while they were stuck among other cars. Or circling in black hawk helicopters, with snipers aiming for Kirin. He had told her about the day he was captured, and the image was impressed into her mind. She’d only slept a few hours during their time in the shelter, but when she did, she had nightmares of black hawks descending upon them like locusts.

  Finally, they were out of the great hum of traffic and continuing the drive towards the desert. Lights dimmed. Cars drifted away as drivers took various exits. Soon they were on a nearly abandoned stretch of highway. They continued to hold hands. When her hand began to shake, Kirin raised it to his lips for a kiss, never looking away from the road.

  After an hour of driving, Rayna was aware of lights.

  These were different than the distant city lights. Floating above the desert floor, these seemed not to be connected to anything. They could have been stars if it weren’t for the perfection in form and alignment. Kirin turned the car onto a country road and turned off the ignition.

  “We’re here,” he said softly.

  Rayna looked up again and realized that they were only a few yards away from the ship. Now that they were so close she could see it clearly. The saucer shaped object could probably house an entire city full of people. It hovered above the ground. The lights on the surface gleamed like diamonds.

  “I have a question to ask you,” Rayna said.

  “Yes,” Kirin said.

  “I love you,” Rayna told him. “I want to come with you! There’s nothing holding me here…”

  “Yes baby, of course you can come,” he said and kissed her. “That’s all I have wanted to hear you say!”

  They got out of the car. It seemed as they walked to the craft it felt further away. As they approached Rayna was able to make out four figures: it was Kirin’s unit. He ran to them and in turn embraced each of his brothers. And then he put an arm around Rayna. “What was before is gone now,” he said with relief. “Whatever happens now, Rayna is with us.”

  “Commander,” Pol interrupted. “There’s movement on the road.”

  They all turned to see tanks moving in. Above, helicopters appeared, seemingly from nowhere.

  In front of the brigade of military vehicles was Ashton. He saw his daughter and cried out for her, but Rayna refused to budge.

  “Get behind me,” Kirin ordered. She did. Pol and Tarik flanked him on either side. Fenn and Jerrod readied their guns and trained them on the approaching vehicles.

  As in Rayna’s daydream, the first shots which rained down were from the helicopters. The men started phasing into their dragon forms, a shivering flurry of movement that made Rayna feel dizzy to watch. Gunshots rang out, and Rayna felt her knees crumpled beneath her.

  The last thing she was aware of was Kirin’s scream.

  Chapter 12

  Rayna woke in a hospital room.

  She looked up and saw a nurse standing to her left at the bedside.

  “What happened? Where am I?”

  The woman smiled at her and patted her shoulder. Without speaking, she crossed over to the other side of the bed. The nurse inserted and IV into her right arm, humming a melody under her breath.

  “Where’s Kirin?” Rayna demanded, growing agitated. “Why won’t you speak to me?”

  The nurse met her gaze, shook her head, and turned away. She left the room. A moment later she came back and opened the door. Kirin came into the room.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he said quietly.

  “Thank goodness,” Rayna said. “I was beginning to think something had happened to you!”

  “No, I asked the staff not to say anything to you, but to get me as soon as you were awake. I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” she asked.

  “You were injured,” he said softly. He took her hand. “It was shrapnel from a gunshot. It hit you in the stomach. You’ve be
en medicated and sedated while the medications heal you. If not for our interventions, it most probably would have been a fatal wound. I see you’re feeling better.”

  “I do. There was a moment there I thought my life was over… thank you.”

  “No. I am sorry you’ve had to endure any pain.”

  “So where are we?”

  He sat down on the bed beside her. Leaning close, he tipped her chin upwards and kissed her. “We’re on the ship, and we’re safe.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, the thrill of expectation growing. Not only had she managed to remain with Kirin, but she was inside an alien ship! She wanted to learn everything there was to know. She wasn’t sure she could contain her enthusiasm.

  “We found another planet, one where we will be able to live. I’m told it’s beautiful there, with blue oceans and bright blue skies like Earth. There will be new things to learn, and adventures to be had.”

  “I can’t wait!” Rayna said and drew him to her for another kiss. “I can’t wait for our brand new life to begin.”

  THE END

  The Lion’s Secret Baby

  The White Mountain Lodge is a sanctuary for shifters who need to get away from the madness of the city, offers escape for those who need it in the several thousand acre forest preserve that it sits on, and a chance to let go of the secrets they must keep every day to protect and preserve their species.

  Sebastian Harper is one of those shifters. On edge from keeping his lion half buried deep, he takes a chance – moving to the lodge in the hopes that he can reconnect to his other half and find peace from the terrible nightmares and sudden, dangerous temper. When he sees Tabitha, he connects with the lion inside him for the first time in years, but can he reign in his temper long enough for her to get to know the real him? Or will his dangerous nature destroy any chance of happiness before it even begins?

  Tabitha Jones knows what it’s like to be hurt. In life, and especially in love, she has had more than her fair share of bad luck. As a professional figure skater, Tabitha had gold almost in her grasp before a knee injury stole her dreams, ruined her financially, and left her realizing just how much she had sacrificed for her career. Then she walked in on her fiancé having an affair with her old coach! Heartbroken, and alone, Tabitha retreats to the one place that brought her so much joy as a child, White Mountain Lodge – but when she gets there, she finds a lot more than she expected, and maybe exactly what she needs.

  Chapter 1

  Tabitha drove down the winding gravel road with her big, dark chocolate eyes as wide as they could go. Drinking in the gorgeous mountain views that peeked through the snow-dusted evergreens lining the path. She cracked her window just enough to breathe in the crisp, crystal clear air tinged with the scent of pine that was exactly like she remembered as a little girl.

  She steered her bright red SUV with caution on the icy road as she pulled into the long drive leading to the towering brick and log manor that rose up like it had been grown there in the forest. She drove past the sign that read White Mountain Lodge in letters twined with carved white roses and exhaled a sigh of relief, releasing tension that had plagued her since almost eight months before.

  As a professional figure skater, Tabitha was no stranger to working through incredible pressure, stress, and pain. But the injury that had ended her career so suddenly, not even a year before had been something that even her indomitable will couldn’t overcome.

  She had torn all the ligaments in her right knee after a nasty fall, and at twenty-five, all her dreams, everything she had spent her life working for, collapsed underneath her. In the aftermath, she had realized exactly how much she had sacrificed in the mindless pursuit of that gold medal.

  No friends, no family except for her grandfather who loved and supported her no matter what decisions she made. And a no-good, bastard, jerk-face ex-fiancé who Tabitha had found out had been having an affair with her coach the entire time they were together.

  He had the nerve to blame it on her! That she was never there, didn’t care enough, and didn’t put half as much effort into their relationship as she made her career. Which was true, she had to acknowledge. At least to herself.

  The ethereal beauty of the lodge and surrounding woods, so still and calm in the early winter afternoon soothed her in a way Tabitha desperately needed. She hadn’t realized just how much the stress of the past months had been eating at her.

  Pulling into the open parking spot, she glanced up into the rearview mirror. Her big, dark brown eyes flecked with gold stared back at her. Her mocha skin swept over high cheekbones and full, unpainted lips. Her features, which she was so used to seeing drawn and creased with worry and exhaustion were already softer, more relaxed. Tabitha smiled to herself in the mirror. This was going to be exactly what she needed.

  She grabbed her suitcase and her old backpack and headed through the oversized pine framed double doors of the Lodge. The main lobby was empty save for an old, worn couch with a geometric print and lovely looking middle aged women flipping through paperwork behind the massive wooden front counter.

  “Hel…hello.” Tabitha gave a slight wave, still juggling her luggage and bags as she tried to get the woman’s attention. Bright blue eyes and a cheery smile looked up at her over small gold glasses pushed down to the tip of her nose.

  “Oh! Hello! Are you checking in, dear?” The woman’s voice tripped some memory of when Tabitha had been there as a child. She stared closer into the woman’s features. The wide forehead, smooth cheeks, and full lips that were still curved into a welcoming smile all made it difficult to put any age to her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Tabitha mumbled as she realized she had been staring for a solid minute, “you just seem so familiar to me. You didn’t happen to work here almost twenty years ago, did you? But no, that’s impossible.” Her hand fluttered, waving away her question, as she tried to pin down the sense of déjà vu that had hit her upon seeing, Tabitha squinted at her name tag, Bea. That’s all it said. Just Bea.

  Bea looked at her uncomfortably for a moment before her happy grin replaced it, making Tabitha doubt she had seen it at all.

  “Well, you probably mean my mother.” Bea chuckled, but it held an edge of nerves. “She worked here for years before buying the place, and now I take care of things.” She beamed again, and all Tabitha could see was sunshine.

  “So, you’ve been to our lodge before?” Bea asked as she reached for another clipboard of papers. Tabitha smiled, remembering.

  “Yes, when I was a little girl. I came here with my dad and grandpa when I was seven. It was the best Christmas I ever had.”

  “Well, I’m so glad you are back to visit us again. Can I just have your name, sweetie?” Bea was looking at the papers as she asked, not a computer or even cell phone in sight on the big desk behind the counter.

  “It’s Tabitha. Tabitha Jones.”

  “Oh, Ms. Jones, of course! I hope the roads weren’t too bad getting up here. I know they were saying a doozy of a storm is on the way.”

  “Nope, no problems. It seems like I got here just in time.” A different, softer type of smile lit Bea’s features.

  “You know, I can’t tell you how many visitors at White Mountain Lodge say that exact same thing.” Her voice once again brisks, but kindly. She grabbed a set of keys from the wall of hooks, each with corresponding numbers.

  She handed Tabitha number L14. You’ve got room number fourteen, dear. It’s really lovely, a great view of the pond, and the valley. I hope you enjoy your stay with us, and let me know if you need anything at all.”

  “Thank you,” Tabitha smiled, and with another little wave, walked down the hall in the direction Bea had pointed. She took a deep breath, feeling energized, revitalized, and ready to dedicate the next week to doing nothing but relaxing. She couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 2

  Tabitha set her bags down on the giant king sized bed that took up most of the south wall of her room. Looking around, she sig
hed in satisfaction. This really was exactly what she needed. The walls of the suite were painted a soft, muted rose that complimented the warmth of the hardwood floors. A small seating area by the door housed a loveseat with neutral geometric print and two wooden armchairs with quilted cushions.

  A big, white, fluffy looking knit blanket was folded over the back of the loveseat just begging her to go over there and wrap up in it, but then she glanced towards the big arched window that dominated the entire west wall. Tabitha’s breath caught.

  It was just so beautiful. The frozen pond sat surrounded by glittering pines and evergreen shrubs dusted with snow like confectioner’s sugar. She felt the prick of tears as she remembered that winter so many years ago. She had gone skating on that very pond with her father pulling her around as they played on the ice.

  It had been just a few short years later when her father had died, but the memory ached. Some of Tabitha’s most cherished memories of him had happened right here at the lodge. It was one of the reason’s she had decided to come, to feel closer to her past, who she used to be.

  Shrugging off the melancholy thoughts, she moved toward her bag with renewed determination. Tabitha knew exactly what she was going to do first. She unzipped the bigger of the two suitcases, her long, dark fingers moving against the green and black checked fabric, and pulled out a box. Taking off the lid, she stared for a moment. Just looking at the ice skates as a familiar jolt of fear slid through her.

  Ever since her accident eight months ago, she had been unable to get back on the ice and skate, overwhelmed by a sense of trepidation that made her whole body shake. The doctors all said it was a normal reaction, and she would eventually overcome it.