by Sky Winters
“Laura?”
She turned and found herself staring at the broad chest of the most gorgeous man she had seen for quite a while. He towered above her, which was saying a lot since she was five nine and wearing heels. Glancing to one side, she could see other women in the shop looking at him with a certain longing, but he seemed oblivious to the attention.
“Sebastian?”
“Yes. I’m glad you came. I was afraid you wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“First, let’s find a seat somewhere before they are all gone. This place is filling up fast. I’ll order us some coffee and maybe a treat? What would you like?”
“Just black coffee and maybe a blueberry scone if they are fresh.”
“Simple enough. Be right back.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around for a seat, finding one in a far corner that had just been vacated. Sitting down, she waited anxious for him to return, which he did a short time later, with two cups of black coffee and two blueberry scones. Were they that much alike or was he just trying to seem like it?
“So, back to your question,” he said. “I find that a lot of women are interested in dating shifters, but when it comes right down to it, they back down.”
“I see. I have the same problem with men who find out I have a child.”
“Never crossed my mind. Kids are great. What is your daughter’s name?”
“Katie.”
“How old is she?”
“Five, just started kindergarten this year.”
“Not to be too nosey right off the bat, but I find that some men have issues with Mommy dating someone new and I like to know what I’m getting into up front. How long have you been divorced?”
“I’m not divorced.”
His eyebrows were raised noticeably before I could finish the sentence. I could almost see him deciding if he would make an excuse or just bolt for the door.
“I’m widowed. My husband died a few years ago.”
“You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“No,” I said, laughing a little, despite the dark nature of his joke.
“Good to know. In that case, I’m very sorry for your and Katie’s loss.”
“Thanks. And you? Ever been married? Any kids?”
“Never married, no kids that I’m aware of,” he smiled.
I found myself liking him immediately. He had a somewhat macabre sense of humor, but it seemed to suit him well. It was almost charming. We talked a bit more about Katie and my work, then his phone began buzzing loudly. He pulled it out of his pocket and grimaced at the screen.
“I hate to cut this short, Laura, but I have to go. Work.”
“Oh, I thought you were off today.”
“I was. Getting called in. I’m very sorry.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for the coffee and scone.”
“Anytime. I’ll be in touch.”
“Sure. Good luck with work.”
She watched as he got up and hurried out the door. Work, my ass, she thought. That was nothing more than the classic phone a friend move. Shifters might be new to the open dating scene, but they were obviously familiar with the practice of having someone text or call you to provide an excuse for immediate departure. What had she done wrong? Was he lying about being okay with her having a child or had she just talked too much about her?
“Fuck my life,” she muttered, getting up from the table and walking out of the shop. Back at home, she opened up the shifter app and deleted her profile. Meeting strangers on the internet was not the answer. She wasn’t sure what was, but she was beginning to understand why so many women that are widowed are widowed for life. Maybe you only got one chance to get things right and when you get it right the first time, that is just all there is for you.
Several days passed and she heard nothing from him. Typical. Rather than dwelling on it, she decided to just build a life on her own with Katie. She would just be another one of those lifelong widows and learn to adjust to it. A week went by during which she signed up for a Mommy and me cooking class, a yoga class and a book club. It would keep her busy.
“You have to get back out there,” Cynthia said on the phone the following Saturday morning.
“I’m just tired, Cynthia. I can’t take one more bad date, or one more rejection. You should have seen how fast that firefighter ran the first chance he got.”
“Maybe he really got called into work.”
“Yeah and maybe Zac Efron is going to call and propose to me tomorrow.”
“I’m just saying that maybe you are making too much of it. Things happen.”
“Well, I’m sure they do, but the fact remains that I’ve heard nothing from him since then, so I’d say that speaks for itself.”
“Perhaps so. Anyway, what are you doing this weekend?”
“The usual. Nothing.”
“If you aren’t going to look online, then you at least need to get out and mingle. How are you ever going to meet anyone if you aren’t even trying?”
“I think you miss the point. I don’t want to try. I’ve given up.”
“I tell you what. How about you call your mom, and send Katie over to her house for the weekend. You and I will go out tonight. Girl’s night out and sleep in on Sunday.”
“Tempting, but I don’t think so.”
“Ah, come one, Laura. Let your hair down a little. No men to impress on a date, just two girls out of the town. You know you wanna!”
“Okay. I’ll go, but no fix ups. If I even think you’ve dragged me out to try to hook me up with some guy that happens to be there, I’m leaving.”
“Would I do a thing like that?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but I won’t this time. I promise.”
Katie was excited about spending the weekend with her grandparents. They always spoiled her rotten and Laura got her back all hopped up on sweets and sodas, but it was a small price to pay for having a break to just not have to think about anything for a while. She dropped her off and headed back home, taking her time to pamper herself in the tub and wash her hair. Getting ready, she found that she was looking forward to a no pressure night out to just have fun.
“Isn’t this place great?” Cynthia shouted over the loud music that played in the club.
“It’s okay. Pretty lively, I guess.”
“What you need is a few drinks and some dancing. Come on.”
Cynthia grabbed her hand and led her over to the bar, ordering them each a Pink Tussle, which was really nothing more than vodka and pink grapefruit juice. It was strong and hit the spot right away. Cynthia found them a table near the dance floor and they settled in, ordering another round of drinks from the waitress a short time later.
“Would you like to dance?”
The voice sounded familiar, even before Laura turned to look at him. Cynthia gawked for a moment before a quick nod encouraging her to go, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“I don’t think so. Thanks for asking.”
“You’re mad at me.”
“I’m not mad. We just didn’t hit it off and you couldn’t just say that. You made an excuse and ran off, then never called,” she told him.
Sebastian looked at her and grinned, irritating her a little bit more. How smarmy he seemed, so unlike how he had come across in the coffee shop when they first met. She watched as he rolled up his sleeve and showed her a scar on his forearm.
“Four alarm fire in the Empress Hotel downtown. I got a bit of a flesh wound that had to be tended to, but was otherwise okay. I would have called you, but you never gave me your number and you closed your ComeShift account, so I couldn’t contact you through there. It doesn’t reveal the email address through their relay system. I didn’t know your address or your last name to even look you up. I tried.”
Laura looked at him blankly, not sure how to respond. It had never occurred to her that he really did have a work call, or that she hadn’t given him a way to get in cont
act with her after their first meeting. Now, she felt like a complete idiot.
“It’s okay, Laura. In your shoes, I would have probably thought the same thing. In fact, I did. I assumed that you didn’t give me a way to get in touch because you didn’t want me to do so. Then, I saw you here and just thought, what the hell? All you can say is no and confirm what I was thinking already.”
Laura was still speechless, but fortunately, Cynthia was not. She jumped right in and picked up the conversation in her own abrupt fashion, practically pushing Laura out of her chair and on top of Sebastian in the process.
“She is an idiot. She would love to dance.”
Sebastian flashed another broad smile at Cynthia and winked, taking Laura’s hand and leading her out onto the floor just as the music switched from an upbeat dance tune to something slow and almost erotic. Taking advantage of the opportunity to be close, they pressed against one another as they swayed back and forth to the music that surrounded them. One dance led to two and before she knew it, they were completely lost in one another.
“Oh, God. I forgot all about Cynthia. I guess I need to get back to the table.”
“I don’t think she really misses you that much,” he replied, nodding toward a nearby corner of the dance floor where Cynthia was practically wrapped around a very nice looking man.
“Looks that way,” Laura laughed.
“I do think I could use a drink though. I’m completely parched. I could spit fire.”
“Not really funny.”
“Sure it is. You are laughing.”
“Okay, maybe a bit.”
Sebastian smiled and kissed her softly on the lips before leading her off the floor and to the table. They ordered a couple of drinks and began talking as much as they could over the noise of the club around them. Laura had to admit that she was glad she had run into him here. Otherwise, she would have gone on thinking he just didn’t like her and ran off like a coward.
“Where is Katie?”
Laura smiled broadly, impressed that he had remembered her daughter’s name after all this time.
“She is spending the weekend with her grandparents.”
“Ah, giving Mommy a little time to let her hair down then.”
“Something like that. Cynthia dragged me out.”
“Yeah, I’m here at a stag party for one of my brothers, but I ditched them when I saw you across the room.”
“Oh no. You should get back. How often does a brother get married, after all?”
“Four times if they are this one,” he laughed.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Not at all. The last one was the stripper from the second marriage. It lasted a week.”
“That’s horrible. I thought you shifter types were sort of one girl kind of dragons.”
“Stereotyping us?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s actually pretty accurate, but my brother isn’t a shifter. He’s adopted. Found him on our doorstep when he was a baby.”
“You did not.”
“I’m fucking serious. I was six years old and on my way out to play. Opened the door and there was a naked baby in a box full of newspapers. He looked like someone had just given birth and stuffed him in there, dropped him off.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Best day of his life. Look what a great brother the little bastard got.”
“If you do say so yourself. Do you have other siblings?”
“No. Some dragon shifters are cursed with an inability to have more than one child. I think that is why my parents didn’t hesitate to take him in. It was there chance to have more than one kid.”
“Are your parents still alive?”
“Yes. Still like a couple of teenagers in love. You will like them a lot.”
Laura was a little caught off guard by the statement, but felt good about the fact that he didn’t seem to have any qualms with introducing her to them at some point. It was a good sign that he was not like his brother and, more importantly, not like any of the other losers she had dated in recent months.
“Laura, you okay here?” Cynthia interjected, standing behind her with the same guy from earlier still wrapped around her waist.
“Grand.”
“Mind if I scoot out of here then?”
Laura looked from Cynthia to the guy behind her and nodded, understanding completely. If she asked her to stay, she could, but if she was content with the way things were panning out with Sebastian, it was time for her to head out for a more private party. Laura nodded her head and Cynthia smiled, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Sebastian.”
“You too. Have fun,” he teased. She returned the wink he had given her earlier and disappeared among the crowd.
“Well, it is just us now then. What do you say we get out of here too? We can go for a nice walk along the boardwalk and talk without having to shout at one another.”
“Sounds very nice,” she said, a bit nervous about being alone with him, but feeling safe somehow.
“Come on. Let me say goodbye to the boys and we will go.”
Laura followed him up to the glass encased VIP room on an upper balcony and stood outside as he told his brother goodbye. He had invited her to come in and meet them, but one look at the strippers inside and she declined politely. She noted that Sebastian didn’t give either of them a second glance while he was inside and made a hasty exit.
“They look like they were having fun.”
“I’m sure they were. Not exactly my idea of a good time.”
“And what is your idea of a good time?”
“Honestly? I rush into burning buildings for a living and sometimes I have to shift to protect myself or others. When I’m not doing ridiculous stuff like that, it’s nice just to kick back and be a bit more serene.”
“Makes perfect sense.”
They walked and talked for hours. It wasn’t hard to see that not only was Sebastian gorgeous, but he was well read and intelligent, well spoken. He expressed an interest not only in her, but in what she did for a living and in Katie. He seemed far too perfect, which was the only thing that concerned her. How could someone be so right? Was it possible that it really could happen twice?
“I’d love to see some of your work sometimes.”
“How about now?” Laura found herself asking. It was almost three in the morning and she knew it was bold inviting him to her house, but she didn’t seem to be able to resist.
“Sure. Let’s grab a cab and head over,” he replied.
Laura felt nervous as the cab pulled up to the curb of her house. She had never brought a man here, and wasn’t sure why she was doing so today. Plus, she hadn’t had sex in the three years since Josh had died. She had refused to get too involved with anyone until she had dated them a while and just hadn’t managed to maintain a relationship long enough for it to get to that point. Still, there was something about Sebastian that she couldn’t resist, and she found that she wanted him in a way she hadn’t desired anyone for a long time.
“These are amazing!” Sebastian said as they made their way into the house and to her work studio. He was looking through the portfolio she used to show new clients some of the work she had created for others and seemed genuinely impressed.
“It’s a living,” she replied, standing close enough to him that their arms brushed against one another.
“You are far too modest. It’s beautiful work.”
“Thank you.”
He leaned in and kissed her, nothing pushy or demanding, just a soft kiss. Pulling away, he looked at her softly and brushed a long lock of her blonde hair away from her face. It felt nice to be touched so intimately. It wasn’t like some of the dates she had gone on where they pawed roughly at her at the end of the night. This was gentle, but intense in a way that couldn’t be denied.
“You have the most amazing blue eyes. They are positively captivating,” he
told her.
“Thank you, again.”
“I should go. It’s late and I’ve seen you home okay. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“I don’t mind if you stay a while longer.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
His hand cupped her face, pulling her to him again, drinking her in. He kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth lazily as if he was in no hurry in the world, just enjoying her. She returned his kiss eagerly, the passion between them rapidly growing until she felt nothing but a deep ache for him to be inside of her.
His body pushed forward against hers, pinning her petite frame to a nearby wall, lifting her until his mouth was even with her breasts. He held her there with his hips, tearing open her cotton shift with one hand and pushing her bra to kiss her breasts, alternately licking and biting at her hardened nipples. She could feel the moisture between her legs as her panties grew wet with her desire, and then he was ripping them free, exposing her to him.
Reaching around for her calves, he pulled her legs around him, wrapping her about his waist as he unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to the floor. He entered her with one hard stroke, forcing a cry from her lips before she bit it, enjoying the way his hard cock felt inside of her. His lips fell on hers again, her breasts pressed against his chest as he fucked her slowly and deliberately against the wall. Her moans filled the room as he took her, giving her all of him as her legs quaked with a series of orgasms, each more explosive than the previous one.
“Don’t stop. I love how your pussy tightens around my cock when you cum. It feels amazing. I want you to cum until you can’t anymore,” he growled in her ear, his cock still plummeting into her center deeply, his pace increasing until she shuddered once again with another climax.
“Fuck me, Sebastian. Oh, God. I’m cumming again,” she managed to sputter as she exploded all around his cock again.
“That’s a good girl,” he said, ramming into her roughly. She cried out loudly as he pierced her center, his primal instincts taking hold as he fucked her unmercifully. It felt incredible to just be fucked without abandon, and she found herself cumming again before he finally joined her, his hips pushing heavily against hers as he detonated heavily. He leaned against her for a moment before pulling away and easing her now quite wobbly legs back down on the floor. She loved the way it felt having his juices drip down her thighs as she stood there in front of him.