Burn: Dragon Shifter Romance

by Ava Frost

  The blasts of their coach’s whistle was nearly lost amongst the wailing. Simon ran the drills with his brothers just as hard as they did, slamming his cleats down as a pivot. He might even have run faster, thrown harder, snapped into position more fiercely. Ever since those events which seemed like a lifetime ago, Simon launched himself into his career and rose higher up his pay ladder in a month than any other player in the history of the NFL before.

  He did nothing with the extra money. It was worthless to him.

  Kristina still lived on in his mind, the memory of her hair and the strength held deep in her eyes haunting him no matter where he went or what he did. Only out on the field did he gain some peace, but that wasn’t always possible. There were other obligations in his life which would not be put on hold for him to run outside, drive or walk to an acceptable area, and practice drills every single time he thought of her and wanted to kick her out of his mind. That damnable thief, not only had she taken his wallet and his heart, but now it appeared as though he’d left his enjoyment with her, too.

  Drawing in a ragged breath, Simon took a position at the end zone behind four other men. There were several other lines, spread out at even intervals from end to end. As the coach called them, Simon’s brothers took off from where they stood toeing the line, charging twenty yards down the field before spinning around to race back. From the valued quarterback who held the team together with split-second decisions, to the enormous tanks who guarded him, the same amount of effort was required of all them regardless. There were specialized exercises playing to the strengths of each position too, but these basic warm ups touched the whole team and brought them together as one.

  Simon could appreciate that. Now more than ever, he needed the companionship of those who understood him.

  When it came to be his turn, he put everything he had into the run. Coming back, he accepted the congratulations given to him but it barely registered in his mind.

  “Alright,” the coach said, practically shouting to be heard over the rain. Simon paced towards him, feeling like a restless animal with water dripping down his face. “Time to break up into squads. You guys know what to do.”

  Simon looked around for the men he always grouped with. A flash of motion caught his attention, delicate as a sapling in the face of the weather.

  It can’t be, he thought. His hands curled into fists at his side. Disbelief widened his eyes and he lifted his helmet to rub some of the freezing rain from his face, but the apparition stayed.

  Kristina stood at the sidelines in the downpour, her hair matted and soaked. She wore a frumpy, oversized sweater with an ugly pattern and baggy sweatpants, running completely counter to everything he thought he knew. And her head was down, her shoulders slumped with defeat.

  His soul cried out and before he knew it, he broke away from his team and hurried towards her. Some of his brothers called after him but the cries died down quickly as everyone must have noticed Kristina, and understood that this was important.

  “Kristina?” Simon said, reaching out as he neared. Against his will, his hand rose to caress her damp cheek –and she let him. His heart broke. Something was terribly wrong here. “Are you in trouble?”

  Not that it’s any of my business.

  She was shivering. He wished he had something to cover her with. Her jaw worked, and he saw the fear so blatant on her face now. “Simon.” She finally said his name, whispering beneath the rage of the winter storm. “Something’s happened.”

  “Are you hurt?” he breathed.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  He reeled back with shock, tearing his hand away. She didn’t seem to notice it was gone, or that it had been there in the first place. “What?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “Is it…”

  “I haven’t been with anyone else since,” she admitted. Her jaw worked again as she struggled to find words. He ached to hold her but didn’t know if she would let him. And even as he watched, her shivering increased. “Why is this happening? I can’t do this, I can’t be pregnant. I’m not a mother, I’m a pickpocket.”

  She’s…It’s mine? It’s mine. Dear god.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Simon soothed, not knowing what else to do. He took her shoulders in his hands, and at least she let him do that much. “It’ll be okay. We can figure something out.”

  Her whole body seemed to crumple. Reacting quickly, he caught her against him and held her as tight as he could with his body sheltering her from the worst of the rain. Shaking against him, she stayed silent.

  “Don’t be afraid,” he whispered into her ear so she would understand. “It’s going to be okay. I think I’m in love with you.”

  “I don’t love you,” Kristina shot back with some of her usual fire, before faltering again. “You’re such a fool.”

  “I’ll take it,” he murmured, and stroked her hair. “Was there ever a time when you didn’t steal?” At her nod, he continued. “So, you changed your life. And you can change it again. Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you. You won’t have to do that anymore.”

  Time stretched for an eternity as he waited, breath bated, chest trembling. The universe seemed to die in the time it took for her to speak again.

  And then he felt her hand slide into the thin, useless pocket on the side of his uniform pants. He smiled automatically.

  “Okay,” Kristina said, turning her face against his shoulder. “But, I’m going to need a third date.”

  THE END

  Don’t Touch

  Chapter 1

  Delia cringed as she stepped over empty beer bottles and red plastic cups that lay scattered across the sea of comatose bodies drowning in their own vomit. Her twin brother Aiden was nowhere to be seen and she was desperate to find her way out of this place before he noticed her. Waking up next to heart throb Marshall Davidson was the last thing she expected, knowing what went down was like a page out of Sixteen Candles and she was Samantha, the dull unpopular girl that no one ever noticed. But she was sure that if she was caught here, everyone would know her. Shoes in hand with no panties, since she couldn’t find them, she stepped over Brian the college quarter back and she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the hallway mirror. It was a ghastly sight, her mascara had run and her hair was a knotted mess.

  “Oh boy,” she heard the slurred voice groan down below.

  It was Brian who lay beneath her staring straight up her skirt, and before she could even consider her options she kicked him in the face and stumbled over him to get away. Mortified she found her way out of the maze and once she got outside, she looked for Aiden’s car, which to her surprise was nowhere in sight. It was still early, and as she looked up and down the road there wasn’t another soul in sight. The gods are on my side, she thought as she hurried down the foot path and out the front gate. She couldn’t believe that Aiden had left her here all by herself; it was not like him at all. Annoyed, she rushed the two blocks down the road to her house, by sheer luck her parents would still be asleep and she could sneak in unnoticed, but luck wasn’t on her side. As she reached for the front door, Aiden opened the door and he looked pissed.

  “Where the fuck were you?” he asked in a hushed tone and pulled her into the house.

  “Where you left me, where the hell did you disappear to?” she said shoving past him.

  “I came home thinking that you had already left, did you just leave Marshall’s place now?”

  “Well yeah, I must have passed out.”

  “What the fuck, I told you not to drink too much,” he bit out.

  “I didn’t drink too much,” she frowned, “Not that I can remember, I only had one beer and maybe a glass of punch. I don’t actually remember much after that.”

  “You had the punch? Oh god, that shit was spiked!”

  “Well thanks for filling me in. I told you I didn’t want to go, but you insisted.”

  “Hey you two,” she heard her mom say as she passed them both.


  She slinked in behind Aiden to avoid her mom seeing her looking so out of sorts, and once her mother was out of sight she rushed up the stairs and ducked into the bathroom. How could Aiden not warn her about the punch? Irritated she stripped and tossed her clothes in the laundry basket before getting into the shower and as the hot water sprayed down over her tender body the aftermath of the evening hit her like a brick. She felt awful; thank god it was Saturday, because facing college today would have been a nightmare. Her stomach turned and she lunged out of the shower just in time to heave over the toilet bowl. She was never, ever going to go to one of those parties again, she decided.

  *******

  By later that afternoon after sleeping all morning she finally surfaced feeling a hell of a lot better than she did that morning, but her head still felt as if fog had wrapped itself around her brain. Surprised that her mother hadn’t checked on her or fussed over her as she usually does, she dragged herself out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Mom?” she called but there was no answer, “Dad?” Hmm, they must have gone out for the day, she thought and as she rounded the corner she smacked right into a solid wall that sent her stumbling back. She was about to scold Aiden, but a perfect pearly white smile flashed her way and the owner was none other than Marshall.

  “Hey,” he said as he leaned one arm up against the door jamb, looking so conceited she could easily drive a stake through his heart without blinking.

  “What are you doing here?” She asked angrily and shoved past him, but the expression on his face was one of confusion.

  “Visiting like I do every Saturday, who pissed on your battery?”

  He didn’t remember last night, or he didn’t care. She was both relieved and angry. If he didn’t know it was a bonus, then no one else would know, but if he didn’t care, then all she really was, was another hapless girl whose name would go on his wall of fame.

  “Never mind, I’m not in the best of moods,” she said flatly and walked over to the kitchen, took out a bottle of water and grabbed and apple. “Where is Aiden?”

  “He’s watching TV,” he said and helped himself to a bag of chips.

  “Great, well I’ll leave you to it then.”

  She couldn’t escape him quickly enough, she wasn’t going to stand there agonizing over what he knew and what he didn’t know, and as far as she was concerned he was too drunk to remember anything. She quickly ducked out of the kitchen and ran back upstairs to the safety of her room.

  Chapter 2

  Holy fuck! Marshall thought as Delia left the kitchen. That was about as awkward as teaching an amputee to dance. All morning he had prepared himself for the ill-fated run-in with Delia, wondering exactly how it would go down. He was surprised to have woken up alone this morning after passing out; normally he would have at least one or two girls with him. But as he started to surface, memories of the night before quickly began to hijack his mind. He remembered every bit of detail, how he had taken her hand and led her up the stairs to his room. How he kissed her and undressed her. Hell, he even remembered how she felt as he traced his lips over every inch of her body and how responsive she was.

  He shook his head and hit his forehead, “Dead bunnies, dead bunnies, dead bunnies,” he repeated as he tried to chase the memories away, but his cock refused to forget probably one of the most wonderful experiences of his life.

  When Aiden first showed up to his party with his sister in tow he didn’t quite expect to feel attracted to her, but she looked so much different than all the other times he had seen her at school behind the library counter. Hair tied in a ponytail and glasses resting on her skinny nose. Before last night he never paid her a second glance, ever. She was the nerdy chick who everyone avoided, shy and insipid, burying herself behind books and avoiding the popular crowd at all cost. Other than the occasional hello and goodbye when he hung out with Aiden, he couldn’t recall ever having a conversation with her. As far as he knew she disliked him. But after last night, everything had changed.

  “Hey man, are you making the pizza or burning it?” Aiden asked behind him and his cock instantly deflated.

  “Yeah I was just looking for your mom’s aspirin,” he lied.

  “You’re getting old man,” Aiden laughed, “Can’t you handle the parties anymore, maybe next time we’ll have a sing along at the retirement home for you.”

  “Fuck you,” Marshall said and laughed.

  “Aspirin’s in the bathroom upstairs,” he said and grabbed the pizza heading back to the TV lounge, “Just stay clear of Delia.”

  Marshall had laid the rules down for him shortly after they started hanging out. Delia was his sister and completely off limits. At the time and until very recently he hadn’t even bothered with her. Okay, so by the time they arrived at the party, he was already a few beers ahead and Delia walking in with that little black number that wrapped so scandalously around her and her hair hanging in lose waves down over her shoulders, didn’t help him one bit. The moment he laid eyes on her, his fixation started and throughout the evening he kept stealing glances her way. She wasn’t particularly social at all and most of the evening she kept to herself, standing in the corner. It looked more like she was observing the Neanderthal behavior of a bunch of college kids for a social science project.

  He was so fascinated with her that he failed to pay Samantha the attention she always demanded. Now if he had to compare the two women they were worlds apart. Samantha the cheer captain, an opinionated, manipulative, drop dead gorgeous blonde who would be out for the kill if anyone messed with her or her property, which was exactly what he felt like at times. A trophy on a shelf, to her it was all about who she dated, the latest fashion, and where she lived. Where Delia was the total opposite, quiet, reserved, unsociable, a pretty but plain grey mousy creature, who probably didn’t have it in her to harm a fly. Maybe that was exactly why he felt so attracted to her. She was a challenge for him. He had never fucked a girl who didn’t happen to be a cheer leader or a Barbie doll wannabe, and Delia was the complete opposite, so naturally his cock ruled his mind for that moment in time, and now it was over.

  He squared his shoulders and took a left down the hallway then opened the bathroom door.

  “Oh my god, what the hell Marshall!” Delia shouted with tooth paste foaming out her mouth and her tooth brush in hand, “Don’t you care to knock?”

  “Shit, sorry I thought you were in your room,” he apologized holding up his hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

  “What do you want?” she shouted in a high pitched tone and held her toothbrush out towards him as if she was about to stab him. Death by toothbrush, that would most definitely go down in history he thought and chuckled.

  “Aspirin, Aiden sent me to get it,” he shrugged, his hands up in surrender, “just don’t kill me.”

  She rolled her eyes tugged the small cabinet open and shoved the bottle of aspirin at him, pushing him out of the bathroom.

  “Good seeing you again Delia,” he said, teasing her, but there was no sound from the other side of the door.

  He really needed to get a grip, there’s no fucking way he would be smashing that piece of ass again any time soon. He valued his life and if he even dared, Aiden will rip him apart. He had no choice but to put her out of his mind, starting now.

  He took his phone out and texted Samantha to let her know he would be over in the next hour or so, maybe if she distracted him with her skilful mouth, he would be able to erase the images of the night before from his mind forever.

  “Yo man, I’m heading out, Sam wants me to pop over and help her with some stuff.”

  “Loser,” Aiden said and flicked aimlessly through the channels.

  “Whatever, I’ll see you Monday.”

  He left the house and straight away went over to Samantha’s and as expected she was all ready and waiting. It was just what the doctor ordered, a mind blowing blow job, some good old fashioned sex and lots of sleep. It was all ab
out trial and error, if at first you don’t succeed, try again and again and again, and he tried plenty, but those long dark mocha locks that spread across his pillow on Friday night with those intense blue eyes that stared up at him kept haunting him.

  Chapter 3

  Monday arrived, Delia was dressed in a plain cotton dress with her hair tied up in a bun as usual, wearing no makeup whatsoever. She did her best to blend into the crowds and avoid Marshall, which worked out well for most of the day. That was until she ended up in the cafeteria and Brian sporting a very visible bandage across the bridge of his nose staring straight at her. Mortified she sunk down behind the table trying her best to hide behind the carton of yogurt, praying that he would look away, but no! He was coming straight at her.

  “Well, if it isn’t Delia Riggs. Mind if I sit here?” he asked and flopped down before she could refuse him.

  “Go right ahead she said avoiding his gaze.”

  “So, rumor has it that you forgot something very valuable at the party on Friday,” he said with a smirk.

  She glared at him not sure what he meant, “I have no clue, and if you’re mad about me kicking you in the face, then so be…” and then it dawned on her. She only kicked him in the face because he was staring up her dress, and she wasn’t wearing any… “Oh my god, please tell me you don’t…”

  “Exactly and I figure after this whole incident,” he said pointing to his nose, “you owe me; otherwise I might have to let a certain item slip.”

  She wanted to launch forward and beat the living daylights out of him, she was so mad; the jerk was actually blackmailing her.

  “What do you want?” she asked him irritably.

  “Meet me in the gym after your last class, I didn’t get a good enough look at your snatch, and I think you owe me,” he said with a smirk.