ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense)

by Summer Cooper

  “Paul Jenson saw you being attacked by some wild animal and brought you to the emergency room. He’s still here by the way. Your knight in shining armor.”

  I was too shocked to respond. Paul had saved me? And what wild animal was Paul talking about? I had been attacked by a person. I remembered that perfectly.

  My Mom leaned in towards me and her eyes, a vivid shade of green that matched my own, twinkled mischievously, “And oh gosh, he’s a cutie. He told me that he’s your student. Lucky you, if I had him in my class, I would be reported to the Dean for coming on to him.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. My Mom was a troublemaker and like me; she had a doctorate degree in sociology and worked as a faculty member at a rival university. She also happened to be married to my father for the last thirty-two years, so I was pretty sure she wasn’t planning on hitting on any students. She just liked to say outrageous things to get a response from me, I was sure of it now.

  I giggled like a little girl, not feeling like the thirty-year-old I was and said, “Oh, Mom. Stop. Or I’ll tell Daddy.”

  “Tell me what?” My Dad said entering the room. At fifty-two, he was still a handsome man and I was pretty sure that it was because of all the years he spent working as a carpenter. He came from old-money and had the luxury of doing whatever he wanted. His passion had been using his hands, so he became a carpenter and barely touched his trust-fund. He was now retired, at least that’s what he called sitting on the porch and watching his garden grow.

  “Nothing, Daddy, just Mom misbehaving like usual,” I reassured my father, and Mom winked at me.

  “Where’s Paul? Is he still here?” I asked Mom.

  She shrugged, “I think so. You want me to go out and get him?”

  “No!” I said, not wanting him to see me in a hospital gown, and I was sure parts of me were bruised and swollen. My parents gave me a funny look, not expecting such a forceful refusal. I tried to cover up, saying, “I just think it would be awkward, you know since he’s my student and all.”

  My Dad nodded and Mom shrugged, “Oh well. The doctor said you’re fine, but who knows where that animal came from that attacked you, I mean we’re not that close to the woods. Such a scary occurrence. I wonder what it was.”

  “Probably a bear,” my Dad said with a decisive nod. The more they discussed it the more I thought that maybe they were right and maybe because of the stress of the encounter, my memory was blocking out the details of the trauma of it. Surely it hadn’t been a person who attacked me; it had to have been an animal.

  “Am I free to leave?” I asked. “Yep, you sure are. Do you want me to go get a nurse?”

  “Yeah that would be great.”

  Mom and Dad walked out of the room still trying to decide who was right about what animal had tried to attack me.

  I leaned my head back against the pillow and closed my eyes. I thought I had only had them closed for a second but when I opened them again, dark-brown eyes stared down at me.

  I immediately tried to sit up and Paul reached out his hand and stopped me.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.” He said without preamble, worry still etched across his face. His voice seemed to caress my ears even in my drugged state. I wondered if I was given some sort of tranquilizer. It sure felt like it.

  I said, my voice already slurring, “Thank you for helping me. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t? Did you see the animal that attacked me?”

  He shook his head, “Not exactly. It was dark. I’m pretty sure an animal was involved one way or another.”

  His words were odd to me, but I was getting tired and my mind felt lazy; I didn’t want to question him anymore.

  I guess he could see the exhaustion on my face as he reached out and stroked my straight red hair away from my forehead. His hand felt good against my face and I wanted it to stay there, but suddenly I felt very tired, so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

  “Go to sleep, Sydney, I’ll see you when you wake up.”

  I reached up to touch his hand and as I did, heat seemed to emanate between us and I held his eyes until I couldn’t keep mine open any longer, slowly releasing his hand as sleep overtook me yet again.

  Chapter Two

  “Hello, everyone!” I said waving to my students as we stepped out of our cars and walked to our trunks to retrieve our luggage. It had been two weeks since my encounter with Paul and the animal that had attacked me. It was still a mystery what type of animal it had been, given that I didn’t have a scratch or bite on me. However, I didn’t dwell on it. When I had woken up again in the hospital, Paul hadn’t been there as he promised and I didn’t see him the next week for class nor the week after that. I had been concerned but had other things to worry about, like the conference where we were presently.

  We had been invited to the conference months earlier and several of my students were presenting their findings, including Paul. It was a three-day overnight stay in a swanky hotel in the mountains and those of my students who could get away, signed up to attend. I figured Paul wouldn’t miss his chance to present findings from his research relating to mythology from across the world, and so I expected him to arrive eventually.

  There were only eight students in my class and they all had my phone number. I was disappointed that I hadn’t heard from Paul. I enjoyed the camaraderie with my students outside the classroom; I felt it improved my relationship with my students, which was important to me.

  I talked excitedly with them about what the conference had in store for us. And while I did so, I kept glancing around them, looking towards the exit, assuming that Paul would eventually show up.

  I didn’t have to wait for long as I heard the only other guy in my class, Corey, yell out, “Paul! What’s up man? We thought you weren’t going to make it.”

  I looked in the direction Corey had turned and smiled at Paul in relief. I couldn’t help myself. He smiled back at me and then the other students gravitated toward him. Paul was so charismatic. He chatted easily with all of them before approaching me.

  “Dr. Gabardi, can I talk to you for a second in private?”

  “Sure,” I said feeling suddenly apprehensive. I didn’t know what he wanted to discuss, but I assumed it was about missing class.

  “Is everything okay, Paul?” I said, trying to keep my voice even as the rest of the class moved towards the center check-in area and received their room keys. The conference was in what was known as hill country. The all-inclusive hotel in the country featured lots of outdoor activities and beautiful hillside views. I figured that’s why all my students had wanted to attend. I let my eyes wander across the landscape while Paul led me away from within earshot of anyone.

  There was a little conference room to our right that was unoccupied, and we ducked into it.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked immediately, being sure that there was sufficient space in between us. That was difficult given that he seemed to shift forward any time I moved away, almost as if we were dancing. Stop fidgeting, Sydney. He’ll think you have some sort of nervous tick or something.

  I stuck my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels. I tucked my hair back behind my ears and trained my eyes on him.

  “I had some business to take care of out of town, that’s why I didn’t come to class. I apologize for not contacting you about it, but it came up suddenly and I had to deal with it quickly.”

  I nodded and wanted to ask if everything were okay, but I didn’t want to pry. I had a habit of becoming quite awkward when it came to subjects that I felt were personal. I also wanted to avoid looking into those dark-brown eyes.

  “Well, it’s good to have you back.” I said turning away and stepping towards the conference room doors.

  His next question stopped me, “How are you feeling? After the other night? You hit your head pretty hard. I don’t see any signs of stitches, so I guess you’re better now?” He stepped closer to me, so close that his body was only a few inches away from
my own. I attempted to back up and realized that I was up against a wall and could move no further.

  “Do I make you nervous, Dr. Gabardi?” He said, a small smile forming on his face.

  “What? No! I just...errr...” I didn’t know what to say and it didn’t matter; he wasn’t going to give me the opportunity to say anything, that wasn’t in his plans.

  What was in his plans apparently was kissing me as he easily closed the distance between us and lowered his lips to mine.

  The kiss was so gentle, so slow and sweet that I couldn’t help but kiss his back. The way his lips moved over mine as if he were mesmerized by the feel of me, made my entire body shake and then when he traced a warm hand up my side and abandoned my mouth to trail his lips down my neck and up to my ears, I could barely breathe.

  He exhaled against my ear, “I’ve been wanting to do this since the first time I saw you.”

  My only reply was a little moan as his hand began to work itself under my shirt and he easily found my breast and pushed my bra to the side. He started roughly playing with my nipple and I gasped.

  “Paul.”

  “Shhh…” he said aligning his body against mine so that I could feel his erection clearly pushing against my stomach.

  I wanted him. And at that thought, my eyes flew open and I pushed him away from me.

  To my surprise, he didn’t let me go, instead he took me by my hands and pulled me into the conference room’s supply closet.

  “Paul! Are you crazy? I’m your teacher! What if someone sees us? This is highly inappropriate!”

  Anything else I had to say was swallowed by his lips as he didn’t waste any time picking me up and holding me up with his chest as he brought my legs up to wrap around his hips. My back was against the wall; his chest was pressed against my breasts.

  I knew I should have protested. I know I should have told him no, but that would have been the exact opposite of what my body wanted. This time it was me reaching for the buttons of his shirt as I feverishly ran my hands across his hard chest and kissed his throat.

  “Dr. Gabardi, I didn’t know you had this in you,” he said jokingly as he pulled my shirt off and tossed it.

  “I would rather have you in me,” I said wantonly.

  He grunted and shoved my hand to his crotch. I hastily unzipped his jeans and stuck my hand inside, reaching for his straining member when suddenly I heard voices from the other side of the door.

  “Oh my gosh, Paul. Isn’t this the conference room for the welcome ceremony?” I whispered in horror.

  He wasn’t listening; he was too busy staring at my nipples. I crossed my arms over my chest and he groaned in disappointment.

  “Paul!” I hissed. “Help me find my shirt, please! People are coming!” I know I sounded panicked and that was because, frankly, I was panicking. I was in a supply closet with my student, semi-nude. I could see it already plastered across the school paper; tenured faculty member caught topless with student seven years her junior. I would be seen as the predatory older woman! My cheeks flushed at the thought. I was getting myself worked up.

  Paul didn’t seem the least bit concerned as he extracted my shirt from on top of a box of tissues. I hastily slipped it back on and then looked down at his pants.

  “Your pants are still undone,” I said and without thinking I reached forward and started fixing them. He groaned and didn’t try to help at all, I realized that the groan was in pleasure and sent him an annoyed look once I saw the smug smile on his face.

  “What?” He asked teasingly, and I gave him a mean look and zipped up his pants quickly.

  “Hey! Watch it. You almost made me a eunuch.” He whispered in an accusing voice.

  I ignored him and tiptoed towards the door. I opened it just a little and peeked out. My heart could have plummeted to the floor. It was too late. People were already coming in and filling up the chairs.

  I groaned inwardly and outwardly blamed Paul, “There are people out there! See what you did? We’re going to get caught.”

  When I looked over my shoulder at him, he didn’t look the least bit concerned; instead he was rubbing his palms across my backside, clearly enjoying himself.

  “Paul!” I said and decided to just shut up. I was starting to feel like an admonishing kindergarten teacher instead of the college professor that I was.

  I decided then and there to just be quiet and hope we weren’t found out. Apparently Paul had other plans.

  It was easily the longest thirty minutes of my life. I could hear the guest speaker and the polite laughter of the crowd. I knew the guest speaker; he was the department chair at a prominent college in the area. He was also extremely uptight and no-nonsense. I cringed at the thought of him finding us.

  I just couldn’t believe I’d gotten into this situation. Here I was in a supply closet, hitting at the hands of my student who now had his hands again under my top.

  “Stop it!” I hissed at him for what felt like the hundredth time.

  He whispered, “I think we should take advantage of the moment.”

  “No. I don’t think so.” I whispered back trying to sound stern.

  He took that moment to press his lips again against my neck and pull me back towards him. I couldn’t help my instant reaction as I ground my hips against his still hard member, my back leaning against his chest.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” I breathed out as he massaged my nipples through my shirt.

  “Do you really want me to stop?” Paul said and I wanted to say no. Instead, I said nothing at all. I guess Paul took silence as consent as he let his hand slip between my legs.

  Suddenly, I found my voice again, “Actually, yes. You probably should stop.” I was wet. Very wet and for some reason I was embarrassed that he turned me on so much. The whole situation was embarrassing me, in fact.

  As if sensing that, Paul abruptly dropped his hand and said, disappointment clearly in his voice, “You’re probably right. Some other time, I guess.”

  He brought his cellphone out of his pocket and said, “Well, according to the agenda, this will go on for at least another thirty minutes. What do you suggest we do until then?”

  The glow of the light from his cellphone illuminated his face before he closed it and I was reminded of how beautiful his eyes were and I finally noticed that his lips were full, lips that had been on my body only minutes ago.

  Stay focused, I reminded myself. I said to Paul, “We shouldn’t do anything. Let’s just sit here and do nothing. Deal?”

  I instantly stuck my hand out in the darkness, but I couldn’t see very well. Paul groaned and I realized that I had completely missed his hand and had instead run into his crotch.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”

  He chuckled, “Don’t apologize. I liked it.”

  I sighed to myself: This was going to be a very long thirty minutes.

  Chapter Three

  It was the next day and I still couldn’t look Paul in the eye without blushing. We had managed to get out of the supply closet without anyone seeing us, and we had each gone our separate ways so that no one would suspect anything, but I still felt self-conscious. I’m sure my students had noticed that I wasn’t there. And I’m sure they noticed that Paul hadn’t attended the opening ceremony either.

  The only saving grace I could think of was that at least they didn’t know where we had been instead. I’m sure they just assumed we had been talking privately regarding Paul’s presentation or something. At least, that’s what I hoped they thought. When I saw them the next day, they didn’t let on that they had seen something or suspected anything, and I had given a sigh of relief. And much to my relief as well, Paul kept his distance and didn’t say much when we were around the others. I went out of my way to be sure I wasn’t alone with him, but it wasn’t that hard, he seemed preoccupied with his presentation that was on later that day.

  I had a panel discussion that I was going to help moderate in the afternoon, and I expec
ted at least one of my students to attend. My session was pretty full and I sat at a table in the front that was off to the side as there was already a moderator present, but I wanted to be there just in case I was needed. I was surprised to see Paul in the audience. I didn’t think he was into quantitative research, which is what the presentation focused on. He was seated towards the back of the auditorium where the session was being held, so I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to ignore him.

  I sat my cellphone on the table and was engrossed in the discussion when my cellphone beeped. I looked down at it wondering who would be calling me now. Besides my parents and my best friend, I didn’t get many calls. I didn’t recognize the number, but checked the message, annoyed that my attention was off the discussion at hand. I was a statistics nerd and loved talking about it so the interruption of my cellphone was definitely unwelcome.

  Annoyed, I checked the message and almost dropped my phone.

  “I thought about our closet session all night,” was what the text message said.

  I looked up immediately in Paul’s direction, and he shot me a knowing look and a small smile. I felt myself blush and hastily exited the screen, putting my phone on vibrate. My phone vibrated in my hand.

  “Did you think about me?” Read the next message.

  I looked again in his direction, but he seemed to be now listening to the speaker. I took that moment to text back. “No!”

  I watched him as he looked down at his phone, read the message and looked back up at me with another small teasing smile. He was enjoying himself.

  “Are you wearing any panties?” Was his next text and with chagrin, I realized that this text aroused me. My body instantly reacted. And before I could text back, another text came through.

  “I can see your nipples. You’re aroused.”

  I looked down and realized that because my nipples were large, the top did little to hide my clear sign of arousal and I wished at that moment that the ground would open up and swallow me.