Hunted by the Dragon (Captured by a Dragon-Shifter Book 4)

by Michelle M. Pillow

  He couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped his lips. “Humans and their guns. I keep telling everyone I don’t need the gun.”

  To his surprise, she smiled at him. “I’ve seen your dragon, and yet you look so…normal.”

  “I am normal.”

  “No. You’re something extraordinary.”

  Jules’s nearness called to him, and he lifted his hand to touch her. She whisked past, gracefully making her way down the hall to his room. He followed mindlessly, eyes glued to the lithe sway of her hips and the curve of her ass.

  The lamplight in his bedroom illuminated Jules with a soft glow. He owned a king size bed because he liked to spread out when he slept. The plain black of his comforter contrasted the white sheets. As Jules crawled into the middle of it, he knew he’d gladly give up sleeping space to keep her there. She tilted her head as if commanding him to come to her.

  “You have to admit...” He sat between her legs and lifted her foot to pull off her sock. He kissed the top of her toes before setting her foot back down. “We’re good together.” He took hold of her other foot and held it in his hands. “What if I told you I want you to stay here?”

  “In Southie?” She waved her hand weakly to the side and wiggled her toes to get him to rub along the arch of her foot.

  “With me. Here. In this house.” He ran his thumb along her foot.

  “You looking for a roommate?”

  “A family,” he corrected. “Don’t you want a family?”

  She didn’t speak for a long moment as if contemplating that question. “In some ways, I feel like my eyes were shut most of my life. I grew up, I dated, I knew I would find a man and would have married and had babies as is expected. But then something happened, and that life was derailed. It left me wondering if I was simply sleepwalking through my existence. I’d accomplished nothing of worth. And in some ways that scares me more than being beaten near dead. I had nothing left. My mother had passed away. What I felt for you was a confused mess. I’d almost died in a dirty alley. I needed my life to mean more.” She sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. I’m tired. I’m probably not making any sense.”

  Sean stared at the delicate strings of flesh that made the underside of her toes. He was aware of his eyes shifting as they focused on her skin, but he couldn’t stop them. It had been a long time since he could shift without worrying someone might see who he was. A small scar curled around the side of the smallest digit with two smaller dots closer to the top. It almost looked like a mischievous smile and tiny crooked eyes. “There is nothing wrong with wanting an honorable life of meaning. That is why I came through the portal. I wanted my life to mean something to my people. I wanted to give them a future.”

  He felt the ticking of each second like some silent vortex pulling him into the fathoms of an infinite sea. The moment stretched, a measured instant that would decide between drowning and salvation. Sean forced his gaze to move from the grinning scar to her steady blue eyes.

  Realizing she didn’t answer his request she remained with him, Sean dropped her foot and stood. He did not understand these humans and their conflicted signals. “You should rest. I’ll stay awake. We’ll figure out how to deal with the Velázquez family in the morning.”

  Chapter 18

  A loud pop jolted Jules from a deep, dreamless sleep. Her heartbeat quickened, tinged with the panic and fear born of disorientation. A second, similar noise echoed from outside the room.

  “Gun,” she whispered as she scurried to roll off the bed. “Hector.”

  Sean instantly shifted to dragon form as his body reacted, ready for a fight. He tilted his head and pulled her back down with a taloned hand.

  “Backfire,” Sean corrected, changing back to his human form. “Car.”

  He slipped an arm around her waist, tugging gently to keep her on the bed. Now that immediate danger had passed, a fog clouded her mind, the world between dreams and life, the perfect haze that came from a long sleep. She felt a calmness that had eluded her for a long time. Jules stretched, her knuckles hitting against the hard wood of the headboard. She gave a contented sigh.

  The mattress rocked as Sean’s arm slid from her body. “I made you breakfast earlier, but it’s cold now.”

  “Mmm, I don’t care.” She covered her mouth, suppressing a yawn. “I’m starved.”

  “I’ll stick it in the microwave. Wait right here.”

  The bed moved again, and she watched as Sean left the room. She closed her eyes, the smell of him lingering over her senses, mingling with the fresh smell of soap and clean linens. Hearing a noise, she forced her eyes back open. She lazily watched as Sean carried a tray into the room. The smell of food woke her stomach, and it growled in response. She pushed up.

  “I told Teresa we’d be over for a late lunch. I wanted to give you time to sleep.” She watched the clean-shaven lines of his jaw as he talked. His wet hair was slicked back, still drying from a shower. He sat the flat tray down on the bed. The silver dish was more of a fancy serving platter than a breakfast tray. Jules didn’t mind. Food was food, and the scrambled eggs, bacon and toast could have been served in a rusty frying pan, and she would still devour it at this point.

  “Thank you.” The words barely made her past her lips before she had the first forkful in.

  Sean gave a small laugh. “Politeness? What happened to the surly tempered woman I’ve been traveling with?”

  “I finally slept.” She arched a brow. “So, you also cook?”

  “All men on my planet cook. We don’t have women to do it for us. No one was around to cook for my brother or me after our parents died. We had to learn or starve. It’s a great motivator.” An easy grin curled on his mouth as if he remembered something he wasn’t sharing. The expression wasn’t intentionally sexy, but it left her stomach fluttering and a very distinct tingle in her thighs. She chewed slowly, staring at his mouth as she ate. She took a moment to realize he stared back, not speaking.

  “You have a brother?”

  “Galen.” His smile fell. “He probably thinks I’m dead. He asked me not to be the first to step through the portal, and I promised him I would see him again. When I did not return…”

  “Maybe he’ll come through, too?”

  “Maybe. But the portals do not always appear in the same place. Earth is an immense planet. Even if he came, he would not find me. When I did not return, I imagine it caused a panic amongst the royals, and they might still be trying to decide if they should allow someone through again.”

  “It might not mean anything, but I heard a lizard man was living in the swamps of Louisiana.” She didn’t tell him it was gossip from Truckerman. “Maybe it was a sighting?”

  “Perhaps.” His tone did not sound hopeful.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t help feeling this is my fault. If I hadn’t been out walking late at night, I would have…” Not knowing why she suddenly felt uncomfortable, she glanced at her plate. “I like the house.”

  “Mrs. Flanagan passed soon after my arrival and her son put it on the market. Brian said Mikey always claimed he was getting out of this neighborhood and never looking back, which I found odd because it’s a perfectly fine human neighborhood. I would give anything to be able to see my childhood home again. My people don’t move around from house to house to house like yours.”

  “Where did Mikey go?”

  Sean laughed, a hypnotically beautiful sound. “Three blocks north.”

  Jules couldn’t help herself. She chuckled as she bit into a piece of bacon.

  “Fillan purchased it for me since I could not complete the transaction for obvious reasons, but I pay for it. The place was a disaster. Mrs. Flanagan smoked those cigarettes like a chimney every day for fifty years and had these two incontinent poodles she kept locked in a room during the day when she went to work. My first remodel project was to pull up the carpet and scrub every surface twice.” Sean glanced around, pride shining in his eyes.

/>   “You’ve done well for yourself, Sean.” She nodded, swiping the crumbs from her fingers. They sprinkled the empty plate.

  “Thank you.” Sean took the tray and set it on the floor.

  “And breakfast was wonderful.”

  “Thank you.” When he again looked in her direction, his eyes narrowed carrying a predatory glint in their depths. The shifter thing should have scared her, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She felt safer with Sean than with any other person.

  “We should go.”

  “We have no place to be,” he countered. “The Flahertys are looking for Hector. I told them we’d stay here. They want you to be safe.”

  “I don’t need to be taken care of,” she said. “I am not a victim.”

  “So you want to what? Continue to use yourself as bait in some misguided effort to regain control over your life? I can’t change what happened, Jules. I wish I could, but I can’t. Neither can you. We are where we are. What we can change is our future. You don’t have to keep running.”

  “I’m not running. I’m doing something to make my world a better place.” She stood and paced around the bedroom, staring at her bare feet. The shades were drawn, and the light dim. “When I was in the hospital, hurting like I’ve never hurt before, feeling sorry for myself, I heard some of the nurses talking. The girl on the other side of the curtain had been beaten, raped, shot. She slipped into a coma and then died after two weeks on life support. I followed that story as I recovered. It kept me strong because I knew that I’d gotten lucky, and that what happened to me could have been much worse.”

  “Jules.” The nearness of his voice startled her, and she spun around to face his chest. “You’re an amazing woman. So enduring.” He touched her cheek, leaning in. His voice dropped. “So soft.”

  Sean flicked his tongue over the seam of her lips, running it delicately along the inner ridge. With each pass, he probed deeper until his teeth nibbled and his mouth soothed. A primitive growl erupted from within, an animalistic sound filled with passion. His kiss deepened, consuming her thoughts in its adoring embrace.

  Warm hands delved beneath her shirt, caressing her waist and back. When Sean touched her, she forgot herself. Apprehension melted away. He worked her clothing from her hips and legs before pulling her shirt over her head. Once he had her naked, he took his time re-exploring every inch of her body. His hand slid over her flesh, leisurely moving over her ass and thighs, the backs of her knees, her calves and ankles.

  When he reached her feet, he kneeled on the floor. His face drew close to her sex as his piercing gaze looked up the length of her body. The dim light caressed the side of his face, contrasting his masculine features. Arousal surged, beginning between her thighs and making its way to her stomach and breasts.

  Sean kissed her sex just as he had her mouth, slow at first and growing deeper with each pass. He cupped her breasts, massaging the nipples into hard, erect points. No man had ever made her body heat and her bones melt like this one did. Everything about him turned her world around.

  Jules gasped, her head falling back as she closed her eyes. His tight grip on her hips kept her upright. He drank in her taste, nipping her with his teeth. Lips kissed and sucked in turn. He slid a finger inside her moist depths, rocking against the sweet spot buried there.

  “Sean,” she whispered.

  He responded, but the words were lost in a raspy growl against her flesh. The finger inside her moved faster, taking her toward climax.

  Outside, cars drove past, the slow, steady hum of their engines blending with the harsh pant of her breath. Sean moaned. She grabbed his head, jerking him up from the floor before she collapsed from pleasure. Pulling his shirt, she walked him to the bed. As soon as the backs of her legs touched, she sat. Sean threw off his shirt as she worked on his pants. Once she had him naked, she explored his lean hips, using their positions to run her fingers over his chest and arms.

  The dim light sneaking past the curtains haloed his body. She kissed his stomach, feeling more than seeing the hard texture of his muscles. Jules moaned softly, drawing her lips along the thick shaft of his arousal. Her tongue dragged across his flesh as she licked him. Repeating her torment, she did it again and again. She twirled her tongue over the tip, liking the way his breath caught and held. His body tensed beneath her moving palms.

  Sean lightly stroked her hair. Slowly, she sucked him between her lips, using her hands to cup his balls and stroke the extra length she couldn’t fit comfortably into her mouth. His heady scent surrounded her as he moved his hips, following her direction.

  She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him. They’d known each other so briefly, but that life-altering moment defined both of them. Sean felt like home, and she hadn’t had that for a long time. His head fell back as he faced the ceiling. She sucked harder, took him deeper. He was close to release, and she wanted to give him that final, beautiful gratification.

  Sean stopped her. With a forceful jerk, he pulled her off him and rolled her on the bed. Jules wanted to give him everything she had—her body, her soul, her heart. But was it fair to ask for his in return? Her life was complicated now, dangerous. She’d already taken him away from his family and friends. Hell, she’d taken him away from his entire planet. Now, he was on the Velázquez family’s radar thanks to her. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, but she kept putting him in danger. So, she swallowed her feelings deep and instead focused on the physical pleasure their bodies could make.

  He fitted his legs between hers, parting her wide. His hands cupped her sex, stroking and pushing until she squirmed frantically for more. She vaguely heard her voice begging him to finish it.

  Sean braced his weight, thrust inside her, going deep to maximize the pleasure. She practically screamed, enjoying the depth of his claim. With a sure hand, she reached between her thighs, stroking herself as he moved his hips. He kissed her breasts, biting gently.

  Jules couldn’t control her body as it tensed. Tremors racked her as she came and she climaxed hard. Sean only moved faster. When her body had given all it could, he let go, releasing himself inside her.

  His weakened body collapsed over her, and he instantly pulled out and fell onto the bed to avoid crushing her with his weight. They lay next to each other, panting and hot, their bodies recovering from the mindless ecstasy. As reality set in, she rolled onto her side to face him.

  “What’s going to happen when this is all over?” She touched his chest, feeling more vulnerable than she liked.

  “I don’t know,” he whispered, “I just don’t know.”

  Chapter 19

  “Man, Sean, you took long enough to find a girlfriend.” Rory glanced out the window of his mother’s kitchen to the backyard where Jules stood with Fillan’s wife, Myrna. Like all the Flaherty men, Rory had distinct green eyes, thick brown hair, and a teasing expression. “I was beginning to wonder if all shifters lived like monks. Or maybe your little dragon wasn’t standing at attention. You know, they have pills for that. Not sure what the pills will do to you, but—”

  “My dragon is not little. It is unyielding, stands fine, and receives plenty of attention.” Sean did his best not to look like he spied on Jules, even though that was exactly what he was doing. He was glad to see Jules smiled every once in awhile. Myrna had a generous nature though he’d seen her temper flare whenever she thought someone talked badly about her family. Her long, brown hair and equally dark eyes gave her an exotic beauty. Fillan was crazy about her. That’s one thing Sean respected about the Flaherty clan. They knew the importance of family and loyalty. Cheating was still a concept Sean was trying to grasp. How one could betray a mate was beyond his comprehension, and he could only conclude that humans were genetically programmed differently.

  “I think you are taking things too literal again. I meant your penis,” Rory clarified.

  “So did I.” Sean grinned. He took Rory’s playful words in stride, secretly thankful the man tried to lighten the mood. The Fl
ahertys often dealt with stressful situations by using humor. As a family of cops, it’s what kept them sane.

  “Rory, you will not discuss penises in my kitchen,” his mother scolded, hitting Rory’s arm lightly.

  “Sorry, Ma, I forgot.” To Sean, Rory added, “Penises are clearly living room conversation.”

  “You leave Sean alone,” Teresa ordered. “I don’t see you with a girl on your arm and a grandbaby in mine.”

  “That’s because I can’t find anyone who cooks as good as you, Ma,” Rory said. Teresa swatted at him with her dishtowel, but the slight smile on her face revealed that she loved every charming thing her son said.

  “No, you haven’t found one that will put up with you,” Sean said.

  “Was that a barb?” Rory pretended to be shocked. “Well, done, alien. There may be hope for you yet.”

  “Rory,” Teresa warned.

  “Sorry, Ma,” Rory mumbled.

  Jules touched Myrna’s arm briefly and started to back away, only to stiffen when Myrna grabbed her and gave her a hug. Jules’s eyes met his. She arched a shocked brow, even as she patted Myrna in awkward affection.

  The two women walked together toward the house. Suddenly, Jules stopped, glancing to the side. Sean couldn’t see what she looked at from his position by the window, but he watched her expression fade for the briefest of seconds. She said something to Myrna, who nodded and headed toward the back door. Sean watched. Jules looked at him and gave a slight smile and a wave before walking out of view.

  “Where’s she going?” Sean asked, as soon as Myrna entered.

  “Oh, she said she recognized someone she wanted to say hello to,” Myrna answered. “She said to tell you she’d be back in a minute.”

  Sean frowned, not liking the fact Jules was out of his sight. Teresa beckoned Myrna to help carry food into the dining room where most of the men already sat and waited. As they left the room, Sean edged toward the back door, intent on bringing Jules inside.