by Sky Winters
The report died out as she heard a loud thud in the front yard and ran to the door, just in time to see the huge creature standing on her front lawn. It was surreal watching as he changed back into a man, not any man, but the one that she would spend the rest of her life with. Running out the door, she threw her arms around him, tossing the throw from her sofa around his naked form as she helped him into the house. He was weak, that was obvious.
“Sebastian, why did you come here? Why didn’t you stay and get medical attention?”
“I’m fine. They can’t help me. I just need to rest.”
“The man, the other firefighter. He said you were crushed by beams. That they thought you were dead.”
“I was.”
“What? What do you mean you were? I was so afraid I had lost you!”
“You’ll never lose me, Laura. I may have forgotten to mention that, like a cat, I have nine lives. I still have seven left. Oh, and my kind lives to be well over a hundred years old. You’re stuck with me for a very long time to come.”
Laura smiled at him and helped him to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Then, they turned in for the night, laying curled up together peacefully. Somewhere in the night, his weakness passed and she was once again reminded why she found him so completely irresistible as his erection pressed into her.
“I can’t believe you want to have sex. Not only did you die today, but look at me. I swear I’ve turned into a whale just in the course of twenty-four hours,” she said, pointing at the size of her growing belly.
“Oh stop. That is just getting me more excited,” he said, slipping into her from one side and pumping his cock deep inside of her.
Everything felt perfect as he slipped in and out of her swollen pink folds, aching for more of him with each stroke. He felt perfect, like he always did, but there was something different now, a closeness that she hadn’t felt before. His hands cupped her swollen breasts as he pushed into her, deeply, wantonly making love to her in a way that made her want to cry with joy. This was what had been missing from her life for far too long. This kind of passion, this kind of devotion.
“I love you, Laura,” he whispered into her ear softly.
“I love you too,” she replied, pushing back against him as her body quaked, shattering into an orgasm that almost left her breathless.
“Oh no, I am not done with you yet” he roared, as he turned her over onto her back and pulled up her legs vertically around him. His eyes glowed orange, and he thrust his long perfect cock more deeply into her than ever before. Her screams of pain quickly turned into screams of pleausre as his cock began widening and vibrating inside of her.
Sebastian didn’t let up, quickly bringing her to several more climaxes before he exploded, filling her with the same seed that had already given life to the next generation of dragon shifters. Their child would carry on his family name into the next century. She could already imagine him with their child, doing normal things like playing catch in the backyard or teaching him to ride his first bike. No doubt there would be dragon training that would feel completely foreign to her, as well.
Whatever was to be would be fine with her. This all felt so incredibly right, like it was exactly where she was supposed to be, and he was exactly who she was supposed to be with. How she had gotten so incredibly lucky was beyond her, but there was no doubt that she was exactly that. Everything felt so right now. So perfect. Sebastian was the most incredible man she could have ever hoped to find to spend the rest of her life with and she knew now that they would grow old and gray together.
He kissed her lips with an almost featherlike caress of his own as she snuggled into the crook of his arm and fell asleep. The morning sun ushered in the next day in only a matter of hours and they climbed out of bed, ready to face the rest of their lives and whatever it might bring. Dressing and walking into the living room, she was astounded at what she was seeing out the front windows. As it turned out, that was a throng of reporters on their front lawn, eager to talk to the hero of yesterday.
“How did they find you here?” she asked in wonder, looking at the mass of them outside, their vans lining the street and their cameramen scattered all over the front lawn.
“I’m sure a neighbor ratted me out. Kind of hard to miss a huge dragon landing on the sidewalk out there. I guess I should have shifted and taken the car back here. I was just in a hurry and wanted to get to you as quickly as possible, to let you know I was okay.”
Laura nodded and smiled, realizing just how much her life was about to change in a world filled with heroes and dragons. Then they opened the door.
Under Fire
Chapter 1
Corinne jumped back as the sauce splattered on the counter.
“Shit!”
She couldn’t afford to speckle her new white dress with red Bolognese spaghetti sauce. She was determined to make everything perfect. Tonight was the night she was going to fix her marriage.
Having averted near disaster, she wiped up the spill and turned off the burner. The clock on the microwave blinked 7:53, which gave her exactly seven minutes to put the finishing touches on the table. Her new heels clicked as she hurried to the apartment’s tiny dining room – really just a square of the great room, delineated by the back of the sofa. The tiny table was set with the best plates she had and the tall silver candlesticks, one of the only things she had left of her mother, gleamed brightly and newly polished. She’d worked on this moment all day. For a week really.
She knew she had to do something. It had been almost five years since the wedding, a day she’d thought was the happiest in her life. But lately Marcus barely paid attention to her anymore. It was worse than when his hot temper flared and they argued for hours. That meant he was at least engaged, plus it usually ended in hot sex, and with a wolf-shifter like Marcus it was worth the yelling.
But he hadn’t touched her in weeks.
She knew why and she was ashamed. He wanted pups and she was happy to give them to him, after all she’d always dreamed of being a mother. But for some reason her voluptuous body that looked perfect for bearing children seemed to be a dud. It wasn’t something she could argue either. If only she could show Marcus that it was as disappointing to her as it was to him.
Corinne brushed a tear from her cheek as she set the matches down on the table. The tiny flames seemed to blur. She checked her watch – two minutes!
Corinne rushed to the bathroom and checked the mirror for the fiftieth time. Marcus wouldn’t be happy about her blowing so much money on the designer dress, but he would definitely appreciate the final look. Innocent, white, and flirty with tantalizingly sheer layers that billowed out as she moved, yet hugged her in all the right places. And she hadn’t worn anything beneath, anticipating it being ripped to shreds in seconds.
Thankfully her momentary crying session hadn’t ruined her makeup either. The sound of Marcus’ key in the door prompted a last deep breath and she fluffed out her long blonde hair one more time before scurrying back to the living area. He adored her long hair so much she never cut it, which meant a lot of maintenance, but she loved that he loved it so much she didn’t mind.
This was it – the moment she’d been daydreaming about for days. He’d never be able to resist her.
“Welcome home,” she said in a breathy voice as he walked inside.
He froze, his dark eyes fell on the table and the candles and his expression was unreadable behind his rough, unshaven face and wild brown hair. She waited as his gaze slid from the table to her and lifted his eyebrows, letting out a low whistle.
“You like?” she asked, twirling. “I know you’ll like dinner. It’s your favorite. I thought we could open a bottle of that nice red we got as a gift from your boss last year and—”
“Babe. I told you, we’re saving that for a special occasion. What’s all this about?” He asked, his gravely voice that usually sent shivers of anticipation over her made her heart skitter with nerves instead.
“What’s all this about?” she echoed. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Babe you are crazy. Nice dress though. Where’s this dinner you spoke of?” Marcus’ lopsided grin wasn’t going to smooth things over this time.
Corinne seethed as the legs of his chair scraped against the beat up hardwood. He sat at the table and pulled out his phone.
Don’t blow this, she warned herself. Breathe. Just breathe and move on to phase two.
Some part of her anticipated things not going the way she dreamed, so she’d taken additional steps. Corinne smirked as she retrieved her special dinner. But when she rejoined him at the table, the candles were nothing more than wisps of smoke and the overhead light glared down.
She nearly dropped the pasta.
“I thought,” she said, trying to control the bite in her words, “that it would be more romantic with the lights out.”
Marcus didn’t glance up from his phone. In fact he grinned at something he was reading. “What? Yeah, I couldn’t see, babe.”
Corinne plopped some spaghetti on his plate. He reached over automatically and started twirling some noodles with his face still in the phone.
“What are you doing?” she asked, words slightly clipped.
“Huh? Oh just business stuff.”
Business stuff? He was in construction. How much business stuff could there be after hours on a cell phone?
Corinne cleared her throat and tried again. “I tried something new today. I was reading up on the internet about fertility treatments and I found this acupuncture place. It was a little freaky at first, but it really didn’t hurt when they stuck the needles in. Anyway, the lady said I’m primed and ready to receive your sperm within the next few days.”
She waited, biting her lip.
Slowly, Marcus looked up from his phone. “And how much money did you spend on this quack?”
Heat flooded Corinne’s face. “Not as much as I spent on this dress,” she snapped.
Marcus growled and his eyes glowed yellow. “What the fuck, Corinne? You know we’re saving up.”
“For what? For pups? Because newsflash – if I don’t try something like this it’s never going to happen.”
“That’s not my fault. It certainly doesn’t run on my side of the family.” Marcus gave her his full attention now, slamming his phone down on the table and making the whole thing shake.
Low blow. Corinne sniffed. Her mother had died having her and as far as she knew, there wasn’t a great track record otherwise.
“You know what else might increase our odds?” she asked, smiling. “If you actually fucked me once in a while.”
She couldn’t believe she’d said that.
“Funny, I don’t feel like fucking you when you’re being a bitch.” Marcus flipped the table so suddenly Corinne barely had time to jump back. The sauce she’d been so worried about an hour ago splattered the floor, the wall, the back of the couch and her dress.
“Where are you going?” she demanded as Marcus grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.
“To get some dinner where I won’t be nagged,” he growled. “And clean that shit up.”
Corrine’s mouth hung open as he slammed the door behind him. Staring around her at the impossible mess, she sunk to the ground and finally let the tears flow free.
Chapter 2
“Wanker,” Corinne muttered as she wiped the last bit of sauce off the hardwood. She’d been calling Marcus every horrible name she could think of and had moved on to English terms she’d learned on cable.
She smiled, sitting back on the floor. She liked the sound of that one. That’s when she noticed it. Marcus’ damn phone must have skittered all the way into the corner beside the bookshelf. Sighing, she stood and stooped to retrieve it.
About to start playing How Hard Do I Have To Throw The Phone To Break It, it buzzed against her palm.
Who was texting the Wanker?
It wasn’t a text though, it was an alert from some app. Corinne narrowed her gaze and read the name: ShifterMatch. Something inside of her went a little numb as she typed in Marcus’ password. He’d never given it to her, but he was idiot enough to use his birthday. 0428.
It was some kind of shifter dating site. Corinne’s vision went red as she examined his profile. The first thing she noticed was his profile pic – the asswipe (time to go back to some tried and true American names) actually used a cropped version of their wedding photo!
Her eyes trailed down the screen. Status: Single and searching. Corinne barely noticed the breath coming faster through her nose as she continued on. His inbox was full, but it seemed he’d been having a conversation with someone over the in app messenger before he left.
Corinne hurriedly scrolled back to the beginning.
I so want to meet you! *hearts and flowers*. Corinne gagged but kept going.
Why are you so interested? Marcus wanted to know, followed by a winky face.
Because wolves are so cute and cuddly. I’d love to make you thump your leg.
Idiot. That was a dog not a wolf. And Marcus was far from cuddly.
Well then you’ll have to scratch in all the right places, he replied.
Don’t tease me. When and where?
The Tiki Club. 9 PM.
Corinne glanced at the time. It was almost ten. Had he actually met this skank? Did it matter? He’d gone so far as to download the app and put up a profile. Hell, he’d had a ton of messages. Who knew how often he did this?
Corinne marched to the kitchen and dumped his phone down the garbage disposal, turned on the water, and let her rip. Pieces flew out, making her duck, but when she’d finally turned off the power, she was feeling slightly better.
Now the question was, what did she do?
As sick and betrayed as she felt inside, she knew she’d never be able to trust him again. He was an alpha male after all – at least that’s what he was always saying. “Babe, I’d be the head of the pack if I decided to run wild. But I’d rather run wild with you in the bedroom.” Then he’d growl for her.
That always sent shivers down all the right places.
Creep. Dog. Fuckwad.
Corinne repeated as many names as she could think of as she ripped her stained dress off and dug through her closet to find her sluttiest outfit. It had to be the little red skirt that landed mid-thigh and crop top that dipped so low it made her nervous her breasts would simply pop right out of the tight halter.
Corinne fluffed her hair out long and loose, and applied some bright red lipstick to match before slipping on her tallest fuck-me pumps.
Two could play at this game.
Corrine pulled up a seat to the old computer, ignoring what remained of the overturned table and spaghetti. He could lick it up as a midnight snack if he wanted to. She wouldn’t be cleaning up after him anymore.
She downloaded some free divorce forms from the Internet. It wasn’t like they had money or kids to fight over. She wanted to make it as simple and clean as possible. While those were printing, she started her own profile on the Shifter App.
Single and ready to mingle, she wrote as her status, trying to keep her fingers from shaking as she typed. She took a quick selfie with pouty lips and lots of cleavage and popped it in the picture space, then she hit the button to make it live before she could second guess it.
Corinne put her phone aside and retrieved the bottle of wine from the liquor cabinet. If this wasn’t a special occasion, then what was? She popped it open and poured a large glass to sip while filling out the divorce paperwork.
It didn’t take long to fill out, which made her feel kind of sad inside. Was that really all there was to her marriage of five years? A couple of sheets of paperwork? She gulped down the rest of the glass and poured another as her phone started beeping with messages from the new app.
The first guy was a skeezer (she wasn’t sure what it meant but she liked the sound of it). He was a wolf like Marcus, but with sandy blonde hair and she didn’t trust that he wasn�
��t cheating on someone who was just like her.
She swiped left and his leering picture disappeared.
Next was a lion – intriguing, but clearly too into his own body from all his weight lifting pics. He was even kissing his own bicep in one of them.
Corinne was about to put the phone aside when she got one more ding.
The picture that popped up was a guy with dark skin and a warm smile. She couldn’t help but smile back at her phone and the way the skin near his bright green eyes crinkled up. It made him seem more… real.
She flicked the screen so she could read more about him.
Confirmed Bachelor. Hmmm.
Looking for fun and friendship. Is he for real?
Firefighter. That could be fun!
Corinne hiccupped and slurped up the rest of her wine as she swiped right and sent a quick message to meet her at the same place her no good husband went to get lucky.
Her heart skipped a little when he messaged back right away that he’d be there in half an hour.
Just enough time to write a dear John note to dear Marcus.
Chapter 3
Corinne paused, hand lightly brushing the door handle to the bar. Her heart beat along with the faint drumbeat coming from inside. She felt ill. This was the place she and Marcus had gone for their last anniversary – quiet, dark and filled with the sounds of actual tropical birds and island music.
But now all she could picture was Marcus – the old Marcus that used to devour her with his eyes – looking like that at another woman. What if they were still in there? What the hell was she doing?
Corinne took a ragged breath and spun around, nearly banging into the broad chest of a tall man.
“Oh!”
“Are you okay?” Strong arms steadied her as she craned her neck back enough to look up into bright green eyes.
“It’s you,” she said, unable to form any other words.
“Corinne, right?” He smiled broadly, flashing bright white teeth against the smooth dark skin of his face.
Corinne’s heart sped up faster than the drums as she nodded. “And you’re—” She stopped just short of saying ‘hotter than your picture.’