“You…found him? And did you—?”
“No! That was just it, Cherise,” Lynx told her. “I was going to beat the hell out of him, I swear to god I was going to kill him and then I…I just, didn’t. I didn’t even go up to his door. I just went to the nearest police station, told them what I knew and they went in and arrested him.”
Lynx continued. “Turns out he had a ton of meth and coke in his place, enough to book him on drug trafficking charges. So, he’s going away for a long, long time, Cherise. And I have you to thank for it.”
Cherise blanched. “Me?”
“You, Cherise,” Lynx repeated. “When I got to his place, right before I barged in that door, the only thing I thought about was you. How, if I went in there and beat him up or, or killed him, I would never see you again. And suddenly, it just didn’t seem worth it.”
“You came and found me,” Cherise stuttered, her hand flying involuntarily to her belly. “I can’t believe you found me, Lynx, I just can’t believe it.”
Lynx smiled and his whole face lit up. “You’re happy, then? This is okay?”
“Okay? This is amazing!” Cherise threw herself at him and Lynx picked her up, swinging her around as if she weighed no more than a child.
A child. Oh no.
“Lynx, wait,” Cherise shouted, but he didn’t seem to hear. “Wait, wait!”
Finally, Lynx setting her down, his lovely green eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong, baby? Is everything okay?”
Cherise nodded. “Everything is definitely okay, it’s just—”
“Are you dating someone else?” Lynx asked. “Oh god, I knew it. I was afraid of this, that I’d waited too long and you’d found someone else who—”
“Lynx, no,” Cherise argued. “It isn’t like that—”
“I understand, I can understand how you wouldn’t want to wait for me, an ex-con who—”
“Lynx, stop!” Cherise had to shout and, this time, it worked. Lynx instantly fell silent. “I haven’t met someone else, it’s just that I’m…I’m…”
“Cherise?”
“I’m pregnant!” she sobbed. Speaking that word aloud, to Lynx, uncorked some sort of blockage within her and everything—all the hopes, the dreams, the fears—came pouring out of her in a deluge of words.
Lynx just sat there, shocked, taking in all of Cherise’s ramblings, holding her close when she needed to sob into him, giving her space when she pulled away. After what seemed like hours, Cherise finally ran out of words and tears. She swiped one hand across her face, rubbing away tears and mascara.
“So?” she asked tentatively. “What do you think? I didn’t really let you talk, did I?”
Lynx shook his head, smiling. “No, you really didn’t, Cherise.”
“And?”
“And?” Lynx smiled. “And, I thought hearing I was getting released from parole early was the best news I’d ever heard, but I was wrong, baby, so wrong. This news, that I’m going to be a father, that I’m going to be a father with you is the absolute best news I could ever hope for.”
“Really?” Cherise said, releasing a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.
“Really,” Lynx echoed, reassuring her. He tipped his head forward until his forehead was resting softly against hers, his sandy blond hair mixed with her black twists. “And I’m with you until the end, Cherise.”
She smiled up at him, tipping her head slightly in order to fit her full mouth against his. They stayed like that for a moment, parents-to-be chastely kissing, until Cherise flicked her tongue against Lynx’s mouth, teasing and testing.
He instantly pulled back as though electrocuted.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, fearing that she’d crossed some invisible line.
“Cherise, we can’t…” Lynx shrugged. “We can’t, be together, while you’re pregnant! Wait, can we?”
Cherise tried her best to contain her giggle, but failed miserably, peals of laughter pouring out of her as Lynx just stared at her, horribly confused.
“Yes,” she said, still shaking with laughter. “Yes, Lynx we can still fuck.”
Lynx reddened. “Oh my god, Cherise, you’ve got a filthy mouth for a pregnant lady.”
She cocked one dark eyebrow and grinned. “Why don’t you step into my bedroom, Lynx, and let’s see just how dirty my mouth can really be.”
It had been over three months since Cherise had returned from her trip to Nebraska, and every celibate night had built upside of her until she was a dam ready to burst. She barely let Lynx step inside her room before she was on him, tearing at his clothes, nipping at his neck, grinding her full hips against the rapidly hardening bulge inside his pants.
“I need you,” she whispered into the shell of his ear, standing on tiptoes to reach. “I need you inside me, Lynx, now.”
Lynx didn’t hesitate, scooping her up instantly and carrying her to her bed. There was something different about him, something freshly gentle as he set her down delicately on the mattress.
“I’m not going to break,” she whispered as Lynx kissed down the line of her neck, pausing to nip lightly at the soft juncture where her neck met her shoulders. Cherise gasped and Lynx smiled down at her.
“I know,” Lynx said. “I know you’re not going to break, baby.”
“You don’t need to be gentle for my sake—”
Lynx didn’t let her finish. “It’s not for your sake, Cherise, or the baby’s. I know you’re fine, I mean, physically. It’s just—”
“It’s just what?” Cherise asked, her hands buried in his soft, sandy hair. His face was tucked into the curve of her shoulder and, at first, he spoke so softly, it was impossible to hear him. Cherise had to ask him to repeat himself before she was able to understand him.
“It’s not you, Cherise, or the baby,” Lynx repeated. “It’s me. I just…I just feel so lucky. Like it’s a privilege to be allowed to touch you.”
Cherise bit her lip, hoping to hold back the tears that were brimming in her eyes. “I’m yours, Lynx.”
“I know, baby,” he replied. “And that makes me the luckiest man in the world.
With that, Lynx gently lifted Cherise up and turned her around, arranging her on all fours facing away from him.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
Cherise nodded, her attention focused on the points of her body where Lynx had touched her. His touch, absent for so long, burned her, lit a fire deep inside of her. She needed him. She needed him immediately.
“Please be inside me,” she practically sobbed. “Lynx, I need you. I need you inside of me now, love.”
Lynx gripped her full hips with both his strong hands and pulled her toward him, slowly penetrating her and pushing her further onto his long shaft with each gentle tug.
When he was fully seated within her, the base of his thick cock filling her to the brim, Lynx paused and let out a deep, shuddering breath.
“What do you want me to do?” Cherise moaned, still lost in the pleasure of having him inside of her again.
Lynx’s eyelids fluttered. “I need you to fuck yourself on me, Cherise.”
“What?”
“I’m going to hold still—for now, anyway—and I need you to take control. I’m nervous and I don’t want to hurt you—”
“You won’t—”
“I know, Cherise, I know that,” Lynx said, his voice tense with his restrained desire. “But please do this, just for now, just for me, okay?”
Cherise wiggled her hips back, pressing into Lynx, driving his cock into her with each backward thrust. His hands gripped her hips like they were made of iron, steadying himself as she pushed back into him.
He shook then, and she could feel the tremors of his pleasure pass through him into her own body. They were together now, Cherise and Lynx, clinging to one another, riding this wave of desire and pleasure entwined as one being, one body.
Cherise drove her hips back, taking him as far inside her as she could. Lynx’s hands ti
ghtened on her hips, fingertips digging into her, bruising her soft flesh as he cried out in pleasure as his orgasm exploded into her. Cherise trembled once, then followed suit, pressing her face into the mattress as Lynx towered behind her, pulling her to him so they could ride out their shared orgasm together.
Later, after a shower and a change of sheets, they were curled together on Cherise’s bed, Lynx’s large body wrapped protectively around Cherise’s petite form.
“I’m so glad you found me,” Cherise whispered, pulling Lynx’s strong arms more tightly around her.
Lynx pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. Cherise thought she could hear the smile in his voice as he answered. “I’ll always find you, Cherise. Always.”
She knew he meant it.
THE END
= Bonus Book 5 of 17 =
Her Protector
Kayla
“Thank you, everyone,” I burst over the mic, causing another round of booming cheers from the audience. “You have been a great crowd.”
I loved my job, it was amazing, I had the whole world at my feet just for doing what I enjoyed the most – singing – but very occasionally I would get tired. Every now and again I would find it a little much, and tonight was one of those times.
Usually after gigs, despite the constant warnings from my management team, I would go outside and sign autographs to keep my fans on my side, but tonight I wasn't feeling it. I just couldn't be bothered.
Okay, that wasn't really the case. Actually my problem lay with the constant communication from a man who was rapidly becoming something of a stalker. What had started out as a few slightly creepy letters was now a constant bombardment on my social media accounts, and it was quite emotionally exhausting. I loved checking the Internet, it was the closest thing I got to normal, adult communication these days, but that had been taken from me. Now it was something I feared.
“We need to get you straight to the hotel,” my manager, who everyone called Mouse, insisted the moment that I stepped off stage. “Apparently a suspicious person has been spotted outside.”
I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket, wanting to see if my mom had called me, but Mouse slid it from my fingers right away. “What the hell?” I whined, but he just shot me a look as a reply.
“You need a media blackout. I don't want this guy to be able to locate you in any way. Tweets have locations, Instagrams have geotags…”
“Can't I just call my mom?” I said. I missed her, I needed her tonight. The blackout seemed like an unfair punishment.
“No,” he shot back sharply. “We need to be much smarter about things now. You can call her tomorrow.”
I watched in disappointed amazement as he whizzed away from me, indicating for me to follow. I shook my head sadly and trailed behind him like a sad little puppy. I'd come into this business assuming that the power and money would lead to freedom… how wrong I was.
As I slid into the blacked-out car next to my manager, he rambled into his phone at a barely legible volume. I didn't care anyway, why would I want to listen to what he had to say? But then I heard a few words that caught my attention, and I found myself leaning in despite myself.
“…new security… bodyguard… shifter company… round the clock…”
Was he talking about getting extra security for me? I had bodyguards for when I was out and about for my work, but not for the rest of the time. I was famous, but not quite enough for round the clock protection. I wasn't sure that I needed it. Yes this was a creep, but he wouldn't actually do anything, would he?
Plus a shapeshifter… was that really necessary? Wouldn't a human be enough? Sure, shifters had their extra abilities – the vampires with their strength, the werewolves with their speed, and the dragons with their flight – and yes they were a lot stronger, but it all felt a bit much to have one as a bodyguard.
I'd had my fantasies about shifters, all women did, but after a disastrous date with a werewolf just as I was on the cusp of becoming famous I'd put that idea well from my mind. Not that I would be dating this bodyguard, of course. He would be just another person looking after me.
“So,” Mouse gave me a serious look. “We're about to step everything up a level, just to be really careful.”
“Right, whatever,” I rolled my eyes obviously. “I don't really care, I think it's all stupid, but whatever you think. Now can I please just have my damn phone back? I need to call my mom.” Now it had become a point to argue about. I just couldn't understand why I was being punished.
“My assistant is arranging a shapeshifter bodyguard to come and look after you,” he talked over me, maddening me by being so annoying. Because I didn't always smile for photographs, when I wasn't totally in the mood to be dealing with the press, I had the reputation with some that I was bratty. For a while I did what I could to change that, before giving up and accepting that it wasn't going to happen. I just acted like myself. Now though I half wished that I were more of a brat because I got the sense that really flipping out could have actually had an effect. “He will be here tonight. He's going to meet you at the hotel, so you need to be ready for him.”
“Right, whatever.” I crossed my arms across my chest and looked angrily out of the window. What was the point of any of this? I'd considered giving up my career a few times, but now that thought was becoming more regular, and more overpowering.
Maybe if I really acted out, if I just acted like the spoilt brat that others already assumed I was, then my label would drop me. I didn't know what else I would do with my life, I didn't have a backup plan, but anything had to be better. Mom would probably be glad to have me back anyway.
“You will need to be on your best behavior,” Mouse warned as if he could see the cogs turning in my brain. “I don't want to hear any bullshit, all of this makes my job difficult enough, I don't need anymore.”
Urgh, this was ridiculous, I would get out. Just to piss Mouse off. He deserved it. He had no idea what this life was like for me. He had it easy, raking in the money without having his life paraded and made up for the world to see. I was the one who had to suffer, who had the stalker. I needed to make my own choices for once.
***
Hex
I cricked my neck, and stretched out my arms, re-feeling my human body again. I liked my human form, it was tough and powerful, although my features were so dark they sometimes scared people. But there was something so freeing about being a dragon.
My body took on a deep black coloring, with orange tints, and my wingspan was one of the biggest around. As I flew above the rest of the world, looking down at everyone, I felt free and important. I felt like I mattered to the world.
I grew up in a very small town, populated mostly by dragon shifters like myself, but I always wanted more. I felt like I was much too big for my hometown, so I couldn't wait until I was old enough to get out. As soon as I hit eighteen years old I moved from city to city, trying to work out where I fit in. It took me a while, four and a half years to be precise, but when I got to Los Angeles it just felt right. I enjoyed the sun, the space, the people. I knew there and then that I wanted to stay.
Then of course I had to make a living. I needed money to find somewhere to live, and unfortunately one of the only things that my strength was good for was looking after other people. I worked the doors at nightclubs, bars, and more recently I'd moved to a new company who looked after specific people. Namely celebrities. I wasn't really interested in that side of things, but it paid really well and I needed somewhere better to live.
Ring, ring…
Ring, ring…
I ignored it for a couple of rings, not really ready for fully adjusting to my human shape, but when it didn't shut up I grabbed my phone and answered.
“Yeah?” I said in a slightly gruff tone. My throat was still burning hot from the fire, but that would die down soon enough.
“Mr. Rockwell?” the grave sounding voice on the other end of the line spoke out. “It's Burt here, from the ag
ency.”
Shit, this was work. If I didn't want to lose this job before I'd even had a chance to do any work, I needed to clean my act up. “Oh yes, hello… Sir. It's good to hear from you.” Nope, that was too formal. I was blowing it.
“Right, well I just wanted to see if you are available at the moment? We have had a rush job come in. If you could take on this work, the money would be good because of the short notice.”
How could I refuse an offer like that? That was exactly what I needed! The dollar signs flickered in my eyes. “That sounds great,” I replied much more warmly. “What will I need to do?”
“Have you heard of Kayla Kay? The pop star? She has been threatened by a stalker, and apparently this guy is getting worse by the day. She needs someone with her twenty four seven, and we thought that you would be perfect for that role.”
Translation: no one else wanted to do it.
We were used to divas in LA, so there had to be something really bad about this one. Still, I didn't need to let that stop me. I did need the money.
“Okay, no worries, I can do that.”
“I will send you the details in a moment.”
As I hung up the phone I quickly logged onto the Internet and searched for Kayla Kay, wanting to know more about her. If I was going to be spending the foreseeable future with this woman then I needed to know as much as I could about her.
“Twenty-one years old,” I muttered quietly, scanning through everything. “Hit fame at nineteen. Moved from a small town.” Ooh, that made me wonder if she was anything like me. “And now is known for her hard-working ethos… constantly on the road… bratty reputation…” Perfect, that was just what I needed.
I clicked onto her Instagram account, just to see what she looked like and actually for a second she made my heart leap into my throat. Of course, these pictures were well cropped and edited in the most flattering way, but that long blonde hair which surrounded her heart-shaped face, well it blew me away a little bit. Then there were her deep green eyes that I felt were piercing into my soul. As I looked at her I had a strong urge to give her everything…
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