Protector Dragon

by Liv Rider

  It wasn’t just that Thomas was a shifter. He was also too nice to be true. He’d been nothing but kind and understanding and Joel was relieved about that. His suspicious side, though, considered it something to look out for. No one was that kind. There had to be more to it.

  The delicious tiramisu took his mind off of worrying about Thomas, especially when Thomas moaned in delight at his first bite. “Oh, I am definitely telling Mitchell about this place. He’ll love it.”

  “He’s a friend of yours?”

  “Yeah, he’s the one who recommended Hampton’s! Now I can return the favor.” He immediately took another bite and closed his eyes in bliss.

  Joel shook his head, smiling at Thomas’ obvious joy. “What does he do? Your friend?”

  “He’s a Keeper of another district in Lewiston,” Thomas explained after swallowing. “We meet once a week, along with Parker. He covers the third district. It started out as exchanging information and handling things that crossed district borders, but we’ve become best friends.” He cut off another piece of tiramisu. “It’s difficult, being a Keeper. You can’t be friends with anyone within your district, because you have to be impartial. Being friends with anyone outside your district is difficult too, because good luck meeting them in the first place, and usually they’re all too aware of you being a Keeper. People can get weird about what I am.”

  “It sounds kind of lonely.” Joel had never thought about what being Keeper had to be like. Dragon shifters were rare, so finding someone outside your family who was your shifter type was already difficult.

  “It is, sometimes. But I do enjoy it. Most of the time. It’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of time, but it’s also very satisfying. If I weren’t Keeper, I would get annoyed with not being able to fix people’s problems.”

  Joel looked at Thomas, whose eyes were on the tiramisu. His tone had been defensive, as if he’d told someone else plenty of times that being a Keeper was worth it. Or maybe he’d simply been telling himself that. “You can’t fix everything. Sometimes, people have to fix their own problems. Or they can’t be fixed.”

  “I can still try.” Thomas looked at him with fiery determination in his eyes. “I didn’t become Keeper to sit idly by.”

  “I didn’t say that. But there are some things that you can’t fix. That no one can fix.”

  “I can still try,” Thomas repeated. “What’s the point if you don’t even try?”

  Joel nodded. The suspicious part of him was very quiet, taken aback by the genuine passion in Thomas’ voice. It was clear that he wanted to do the right thing and help where he could.

  Maybe Thomas really was the incredibly kind and understanding guy Joel was getting to know.

  And starting to fall in love with.

  8

  Thomas

  “You’re not telling us everything.”

  Thomas shrugged as he sipped his beer. He was sitting in the bar with Parker and Mitchell, and had given them an abridged version of what had happened yesterday.

  After the date, Thomas had been tempted to invite Joel home, and his dragon had been insisting on it. They had to keep Joel safe, and where better to do that than in their own home?

  But he had to take it slow and make sure Joel trusted him completely before he did something like that. They had the rest of their lives to spend together. He could wait a couple of days, even if his dragon’s growing impatience was maddening.

  “We’ve got another date tomorrow night,” he said, ignoring Mitchell’s pointed remark. “We’re going to see a movie. Joel’s idea.”

  They had been messaging back and forth ever since the date at the restaurant. Every time Joel’s name appeared on his phone his heart gave a little jump. He hoped Joel was starting to feel the same about him.

  “How much have you told him?” Mitchell asked.

  “Enough for now. He was already aware of shifters because of the town he grew up in. He knows what a Keeper of the Peace and a council are.”

  Parker frowned. “Then why did he run when you mentioned wolves out of nowhere?”

  This was really Joel’s story to tell, but Thomas had to say something now that he’d brought it up. “The shifters in his hometown weren’t always the nicest.”

  “Ah,” was all Mitchell said, nodding.

  “Now I’m trying to convince him that I’m a very nice shifter. He hasn’t really met other shifters in Lewiston yet.”

  Parker and Mitchell exchanged looks, then smirked at him. “Does Joel know exactly how nice you want to be to him?” Parker asked.

  “I haven’t told him we’re true mates, no.”

  “You should wait with that,” Mitchell agreed. “He might know about shifters, but humans usually take relationships slow. You can’t get too serious too quickly. Give it a couple more dates before you even try telling him.”

  Our mate deserves to know as soon as possible.

  His dragon had been insisting on that and Thomas was torn. He did want to tell Joel the truth and be honest with him, but Mitchell had a point. He didn’t want to scare Joel off either. Joel was only just getting used to the idea of dating a shifter. How would he react to knowing he was destined to be spend the rest of his life with one?

  “I’ll see how things go tonight,” he said, still thinking it over. “See what Joel wants.”

  “Action-packed superhero movie, or action-packed spy thriller?” Thomas turned to Joel, who was looking at the movies playing that evening.

  “What if I want to see the high school comedy about the quarterback who falls for the nerdy girl tutoring him in Chemistry, but she thinks he’s just a brainless jock? Will they make it to prom together?”

  It didn’t take a dragon’s keen eyesight to know Joel was joking, but Thomas decided to play along. “Sounds fun. I’ll get the tickets.”

  Joel grabbed his arm before Thomas could do more than turn towards the ticket machines. “Superhero movie.”

  “No proms in that one, though.”

  “I think I’ll live. You never know, they might have to go to a charity ball hosted by the villain.”

  “True.” Thomas bought the tickets. “And then a fight breaks out and someone ends up thrown through a window.”

  “See, not that different from your average high school prom.”

  He laughed. “I went to a pretty small high school, but we did end up with a couple of broken windows every school year. Not because of prom, but because… well, things change a lot when you’re a teenager.”

  Especially when you’re a shifter teenager who underestimated their own size when shifted, or their own strength.

  “Right.” Joel sounded distant.

  Thomas glanced at him, kicking himself for bringing up high school and dredging up what had to be bad memories. “But you prefer superheroes over spies?”

  Joel blinked, surprised by the sudden change in subject. “Uh, yeah. Well, I saw the trailers for both, and the superhero one just seemed like more fun. You know, straight-forward good guys defeating bad guys. No lying or double-crossing to get to a happy ending.”

  “I do like a happy ending.” He hoped theirs wouldn’t involve super villains plotting to take over the world.

  “But we can always watch the spy thriller next time. I mean, if you’d like.”

  He was thrilled Joel was already talking about a next time. “I don’t know, I’m curious about that high school comedy now,” he teased.

  Joel snorted as they walked past the concession stands. “I am definitely in charge of buying tickets next time…” He looked over at the popcorn. “Oh, I’ll buy us snacks. You like salty or sweet popcorn?”

  They talked about popcorn preferences and other types of snacks they liked. Thomas was glad he’d successfully changed the subject away from high school. He liked watching Joel at ease like this, smiling and talking about previous movies he’d seen and the friends he’d seen them with. Even though Joel hadn’t come to Lewiston for the best of reasons, he had made the ci
ty his home.

  Once they were in the movie theater, they talked quietly until the trailers started.

  “Oh, that one again?” Joel shook his head.

  Nothing about the trailer was familiar to Thomas, but that wasn’t very surprising. He didn’t go to the cinema very often and he usually had no idea what movies were playing, never mind which movies were being released soon.

  “You watch a lot of movies?” Thomas whispered.

  “Two or three a month.” Joel kept his voice low. “Usually with friends, but sometimes I go alone. How about you?” He grabbed a handful of popcorn from the large bucket they were sharing.

  He tried to remember the last movie he’d seen in the cinema. “It’s been a while. I guess I’ve been busy.”

  “Right, your job. I hope I’m not getting in the way of anything.”

  “You would never get in the way.” He must’ve raised his voice, because he got shushed by someone a few rows behind them. He slunk down in his seat and glanced over at Joel, who was trying not to laugh.

  “You’re very sweet.” Joel leaned in to keep quiet. He stayed there, only a few inches away from Thomas’ face, then gave him a peck on the cheek before leaning back in his own seat.

  Thomas was too stunned to react at first, but warmth blossomed throughout his body. His dragon was basking in happiness.

  Our mate desires us!

  It was definitely a good sign, Thomas had to agree. He reached out with his left hand and Joel moved the bucket of popcorn over to him. Thomas smiled and took Joel’s right hand instead. He could tell Joel’s cheeks were reddening, even though the scene on the cinema screen was a dark one. Joel’s hand squeezed his.

  He leaned in. “You’re very sweet too.” He gave Joel’s cheek a kiss, wishing he could do more.

  We can do more!

  Thomas reminded his dragon that they were in public.

  We can do more later.

  Fortunately, his dragon was too happy to feel too impatient at having to wait even longer. Just holding Joel’s hand was already wonderful.

  It was also wonderful to sit here in the cinema and enjoy the movie, including being shushed. He was just another guy here. No one else knew he was a powerful dragon shifter or the local Keeper of the Peace. No one was deferring to him or demanding that he solve a problem. It was one of the most relaxing evenings out he’d had in a while. Sure, his evenings with Parker and Mitchell were fun too, but they always ended up talking about their jobs, even if only to vent before moving on.

  He looked over at Joel, who was watching the movie while munching on popcorn. His shoulders were relaxed and he looked completely at ease.

  Maybe this was why Joel was meant for him. Someone who could pull him away from his job, from shifter matters. Someone who could help him relax and make him feel normal.

  Thomas had always thought Parker and Mitchell were the bigger workaholics, simply because they’d check their phones and send a quick work-related message while Thomas would shake his head at them over a beer. But Thomas still spent plenty of his free time thinking about issues the council or other shifters matters, things he could do better, or talking about it with Parker and Mitchell. He was as absorbed by his duties as they were.

  Yes, Joel had definitely come into his life at the right moment. He needed the reminder that there was more to life than being Keeper of the Peace and looking out for everyone else. Sometimes, he had to look out for himself first.

  He’d enjoy tonight and his time with Joel. He didn’t want to think ahead about what they’d do once the movie was over. He could let Joel decide.

  Right now, he was going to focus on the movie.

  “Okay, I know it was really obvious from the start that his uncle was the bad guy, but that part when they were fighting and the uncle removes his mask, that was a great scene,” Joel told him excitedly.

  “It was a cool fight. I like how there’s always plenty of conveniently abandoned warehouses for fights like that to happen in.” He wished there were that many abandoned warehouses available in real life. It would certainly make life easier for some shifters if they knew they had a safe place indoors to shift and run around.

  They discussed the movie as they walked away from the cinema, catching each other up on details they had missed and scenes they had liked. When they got to a corner, Joel turned right while Thomas wanted to keep going ahead. “Wait.” He grabbed Joel’s elbow.

  “Oh, sorry, I was automatically walking back to my place.”

  “You want to go home?” Thomas hoped he didn’t sound disappointed.

  Joel shrugged, bouncing on his feet a little. “I’ve got an afternoon shift tomorrow.”

  “So, you’ll have to work late?” Thomas wondered why Joel was telling him. Did he mean they couldn’t go out together tomorrow evening?

  “So, I can stay out late now.” Joel grinned. “Okay, I guess you really haven’t dated in a while.”

  He really should’ve caught that hint. “You want to go somewhere for a drink? There’s got to be a decent bar nearby.”

  Joel nodded down the street he had been about to enter. “There’s one further down there. It’s small but friendly, the music’s not too loud and the beer’s all right.”

  “Wow, you’re really selling me on this place.” Thomas followed Joel down the quiet street. He only saw one person walking their dog across the street.

  “Also, it’s the closest gay-friendly bar I could think of.”

  “Why specifically gay-friendly?”

  “I guess for the same reason you’d prefer shifter-friendly bars. Just in case, you know?”

  “Good point. Having to think about what you say all evening is pretty annoying.” He’d still have to make sure not to slip about any shifter-related matters, but he was used to that.

  “That, and maybe in case we feel like doing more than hold hands.”

  Thomas turned his head to look at Joel, who was suddenly very interested in a poster advertising a concert from last week. “Oh?” he asked, his heartbeat speeding up. “Like what?” He reminded himself that he should be careful and not move too fast. Joel didn’t feel the connection as strongly, so he couldn’t rush this.

  “Well.” Joel stopped to grab Thomas’ hand and moved so they weren’t under a street light anymore. “Maybe this.”

  Thomas stood still as Joel leaned closer and kissed him. As soon as their mouths met, something inside of him lit up with warmth and overwhelming happiness.

  Our mate! His dragon was ecstatic too, wanting to take flight in triumph. Our mate!

  Thomas put his other hand on Joel’s shoulder, then moved it to wrap around the back of his head, pulling them flush together. He deepened the kiss, wanting more, needing more.

  Joel pressed against him, letting go of his hand to grab Thomas’ coat tight with both hands.

  It wasn’t enough. Thomas cupped Joel’s face with his free hand, caressing his cheek as they kissed. Joel’s pulse quickened when his fingers slid down to stroke his neck. It would be so much better without the barriers of clothes between them. Thomas let out a frustrated noise as he pressed forward. He wanted to touch Joel everywhere. Desire filled his body, and thoughts about taking it slow had been seared away by a burning need to claim Joel as his mate. Why had he waited so long to kiss him?

  Joel grunted and broke the kiss. “Wait.”

  Thomas froze when he realized he had Joel backed up against the wall. “Um.” He tried to get himself under control. His body was still thrumming with the need to kiss Joel again, to feel his soft lips against his own. “Sorry about that?”

  Joel laughed, his breathing coming fast. “I don’t think there’s anything to be sorry for.” His eyes darted down to Thomas’ mouth.

  Thomas glanced around. They were in the shadows now and he couldn’t see anyone else around. He could hear the noise from the bar Joel had mentioned only a few yards away from them, dim music and voices, but out here, they were alone. “Well, in that case…�
�� He kissed Joel again, loving the way Joel immediately tried to press closer as if he couldn’t get enough either.

  He made sure not to press Joel against the wall too tightly as they kissed, and smiled when Joel’s hands drifted down his coat to get underneath it. He kept one hand around the back of Joel’s neck, stroking the skin with his thumb. From the way Joel was squirming against him, he definitely enjoyed it.

  He was getting hard and knew it wouldn’t be long before Joel noticed. Not with the way their bodies were pressed together.

  Joel’s hands slipped under his shirt and Thomas shivered at the first touch. He squirmed, eager for more. His skin felt much more sensitive than normal, Joel’s touches so much better.

  Joel whimpered into his mouth as he stroked Thomas’ sides. He moved his hips slightly and Thomas felt Joel’s erection against his thigh. Feeling that only made his own desire burn hotter. He broke the kiss, but only to nuzzle Joel’s neck and press kisses there. Joel tipped his head back, giving Thomas more space.

  He eagerly inhaled Joel’s sweet scent. Right now, this close, he could smell exactly how turned on Joel was, as if the hard bulge didn’t make that clear already.

  Joel began to grind against him, rocking his hips and panting as Thomas kissed his neck. “We should probably,” he managed, “stop doing this.”

  Thomas let out a low growl. He didn’t want to stop. “Why?” Joel shuddered against him.

  “Because we’re in public?”

  That did put a dampener on Thomas’ desire. Joel was right. They couldn’t keep making out in public. Joel was practically dry-humping him already. “Right. Yes.” He pulled away slightly so he could look Joel in the eye. Seeing Joel’s flushed cheeks and the desire in his eyes nearly broke his resolve. How could he stop kissing and touching this wonderful man? His mate?

  His dragon was growling too, one moment insisting that they claim Joel right here, right now, the other moment insisting they whisk Joel away to their lair.