His Dragon Protector

by Jill Haven

  “Just leave it alone, Mason,” I said with a sigh and tried to untangle my fingers from his again, but he didn’t let go. Mason forcing his grip irked me, so I tugged harder. He still didn’t drop my hand. Instead, he turned himself so that he could keep the car in sight and dart glances at me.

  “You don’t smell right. Are you okay?” Mason asked, and he lightly squeezed my hand, like he was trying to convince me to stop struggling. His nostrils flared and his body went rigid.

  Surprise stilled my efforts to get loose. He was smelling me now? That was a new one on me. I mean, sometimes I smelled things on people… My chest tightened and seemed to quiver with trapped electric butterflies from the inside. Internal pieces of me were vibrating so hard and so fast that I might be able to achieve liftoff. The feeling was scary and, fine, a little bit good, but there was too much going on right now, it was all happening too fast, and besides, I had to get away from whoever was coming to drag me in front of Grandpa. I stomped on Mason’s foot and he grunted but didn’t let me go, too focused on whatever he thought he could learn about me with his perfectly shaped, sensitive—stupid—nose.

  “Stop being unfair. I can’t do all that sniffing stuff every second of the day. Don’t cheat.”

  He chuckled and his eyes widened. We were standing close in rays of the sun which were climbing high overhead while not warming a damn thing. We were nearer each other than we’d ever been, and I was taken by surprise. He was a real knockout with the strong jaw and serious lips he had going on. His dark hair curled over his forehead and made me want to touch it, longer than I kept mine. The style looked good on him, though. Everything about him looked good. I took a deep breath of that smoky, sugary scent that clung to him.

  He cleared his throat. “What? It’s not cheating. It’s just a—” he leaned closer “—dragon thing. I can’t help it.” He frowned at me. “Do you know who’s in the limo?”

  “No one good. I’m over this.” I tugged lamely to free my hand.

  He didn’t let go.

  The tingles firing rapidly between us made me not want to drop my grip anymore and that scared me a little. I couldn’t like him this much already. That wasn’t smart, not with all the trouble breathing down my neck right now. I couldn’t afford to lose my focus. “I’m so over this that I’m throwing an over party and need to get there. Let me go, now.”

  He didn’t drop my hand, because of course he fucking didn’t. Obviously, all dragons were hard of hearing when it came to listening to omegas like me. Vladimir hadn’t cared what I said. A stab of unexpected fear wobbled into my stomach. I didn’t for a second think a doctor like Mason would hurt me, not in my brain anyway, but my stomach twisted up thinking about how Dad was dead now, all because I was an omega.

  Four muscled men with rough faces and smoothed-out suits that didn’t quite hide the gun lumps from the holsters at their sides got out of the limo. Clearly, now wasn’t the time for a meltdown about Dad’s death. I dragged deep breaths into my lungs, but Mason was standing so close, and I wobbled toward him when I got more of his smoky scent in my nose again. I shook my head.

  One goon in particular, a lump of muscle with a smashed flat nose named Grim Grenson, zeroed right in on me and scowled. It was bad that I recognized him because he was part of Grandpa’s inner circle. I was pretty sure his real name wasn’t Grim, but the way he ambled around zapping people with that hateful expression he wore and shooting people when Grandpa said to, I wasn’t one-hundred-percent certain that any other name fit. He began to walk our direction while he slipped his hand under the jacket of his suit coat. My breath clouded in the cold air in front of me and I became shockingly aware of all the details around Mason and me. The sounds of shoes on cement. The way his warm hand blocked the cold where he touched me.

  Impending death was a hell of a rush.

  Bishop, who had unsettled me with his sheer size, came to a halt beside Mason, making a big wall between me and the world. Bishop was built like a brick shithouse. He nudged his elbow into Mason’s side and the motion was enough to jostle us both when Mason stumbled into me. Bishop grinned and, in the process, showed razor-sharp, pointed teeth that had me choking on air. “I’m fine here. Why don’t you take Seth and go to safety?” Bishop asked in the low boom that passed for a voice from him.

  “What’s going on?” Bobby asked. I’d nearly forgotten about my lawyer. The suit hung back behind us, no one could call that man stupid, that’s for sure, and he clung to his briefcase like a shield.

  All at once Mason gripped my hand tighter. I gasped as an onslaught of lusty heat roared to life in my stomach like a bonfire and spread out into my limbs, melting my muscles into needy Jell-O. I should have been getting ready to run, but all I wanted to do was bury my nose in Mason’s neck. This wasn’t right, it was scary, but the adrenaline I always felt when my life was tipping sideways fueled the fire, so to speak, and crazily, I felt my dick rev up, as if it were somehow going to get some attention anytime soon. Confused and a little scared at how out of control I was feeling, I pulled harder on Mason’s hand.

  “I’m never visiting a client on behalf of, or working for, Carlisle James—ever again,” Bobby muttered from his spot frozen in place nearby.

  “Come here, Mr. Preston.” I stood on tiptoe to see around Mason’s shoulder. One of the goons gestured me over, though he was stone-cold insane if he thought the smile on his face would put me at ease. I wasn’t sure, because Dad and I had been away from the city recently, but I thought he might be a lieutenant in Grandpa’s organization. By not doing as I was told, I was just dragging this out, but Mason’s hand was firm where he held mine. I glanced at Mason and a pang hit me. If something happened to him because of me, I doubted I would ever forgive myself. Dad getting killed was bad enough, but there was no reason for a virtual stranger to bite the big one on my behalf.

  “It’s okay, I should go with them.”

  “What?” Mason shook his head and glared at me; one bold eyebrow high. “No.”

  “I have to go talk to my Grandfather.”

  “What do those men have to do with your family?”

  The goon who was still smiling slipped a gun out from under his suit coat and discreetly held it at his side. “Send Seth over here now.”

  “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Seth over,” I mumbled under my breath with a laugh that I knew was fueled by adrenaline, but I couldn’t stop. Bishop and Mason both gave me strange looks.

  A standoff developed that I thought would maybe go on forever, or at least as long as it might take a cop to come out of the station, but then Bishop let out a growl—a real hair-raising animal noise—and he stepped in swinging. There was a scuffle. The guy with the gun tried to swing it around toward Bishop. Mason and I both ducked and flinched, but Bishop was vicious and fast. He punched the man in the shoulder and the gun fell to the ground.

  The hunk of metal clattered near our feet and I bent to retrieve it but was stopped when Mason wrapped an arm around my chest and scooped one under my knees. I gasped and Mason picked me up in his strong, warm arms, and ran away from the fight with me cradled close to his chest like some damsel in distress. I kicked, but he didn’t put me down. Our desertion left the blond lawyer to flee back into the police station, his briefcase sailing into the air behind him.

  “Oh, Jeezus,” I grumbled. The closeness of Mason got to me and I relaxed into his arms, my stomach heating unreasonably. I clung to his coat and buried my nose against his neck, inhaling deeply. He grunted like I’d punched him and clutched me closer.

  “Don’t run too fast. You shouldn’t be able to move this way with someone my size in your arms,” I murmured.

  He laughed. “You’re not so big.”

  I smacked him on the shoulder and then gripped him there and moved myself so that I could peek back the way we’d come. Bishop had knocked three of the guys on their asses, and cops streamed out of the police station. There was yelling and gun pointing, and Bishop put his hands into the air. My
heart almost stopped.

  “We gotta go back.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Mason said, and put on more speed. The limo peeled out in our direction.

  “They’re coming.”

  Mason ran faster and my stomach churned with the motion, but I kept my mouth shut. I ducked my head like a coward and hid against his front. The limo slowed as it moved past us, but whoever was inside must have thought better of stopping with the cops outside to see what they were up to in person because the car sped back up and kept going.

  “Put me down, Mason. Goddamn it, put me down.” Electricity pelted around my chest and zipped to my stomach and my groin tightened. Then I was dealing with wood that wouldn’t quit. I sucked in a deep breath, and all I could smell was Mason. My head swam and dizziness had me for a second. He turned and pressed a kiss to my temple. “I fucking said stop,” I hissed.

  He kept going until he turned the corner and rounded onto the next block. My legs trembled and my body was in a weirdly excited meltdown when he let me drop my feet to the ground. My knees trembled and I had no choice but to cling to him or fall.

  He had stopped near a car that I thought might be his because it had out-of-state plates. He massaged my lower back and then he finally let me catch my breath.

  “Are you okay?” He leaned in and planted his soft, full lips on mine. Well, now I couldn’t breathe again. He clutched my shoulders tightly and my stomach rioted with nerves and sexual heat and fear. Everything spun together in a big knot in a bad way. The way he held me still had my dick ready for serious friction time, but my stomach roiled because for a few seconds all I could think about was the night that Vladimir killed Dad and took me. He’d pressed me against the wall and held me still while I lost my shit. I can’t move. I can’t move.

  I stepped back and threw all my weight into it and, like a dork, stumbled and fell onto my ass. Embarrassed heat hit my face. Mason hadn’t been trying to trap me, of course he wasn’t, but I’d gotten confused for a second. Tears pricked my eyes and I bounced to my feet, one hand going to my cramping stomach.

  “Who do you think you are?” I swung hard on a right hook and clipped his chin. My hand hurt, but I barely felt it with everything else scrambling around inside me.

  Mason dropped to one knee and cradled his jaw. He didn’t seem mad, though, instead a heat that had nothing to do with fist fights gleamed in his eyes. He smirked and I got a rush of tingles that told me to run, fast, but somewhere in a dark spot inside me I wanted him to chase me down, prove his worth, fuck me. It all felt primal and nothing like what usually bounced around in my brain. Half the time I was thinking about code and how to hack into stupid shit like keycard security.

  A horrible rush tingled over me, actually hurt me deep in my chest where the overly excitable electricity lived that had sprung to life when I first saw Mason. I hadn’t been able to deal with it then, either, so I’d left, even though I was worried about Haiden, and even though I should have stayed to see if I could locate Dad’s body.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly, concern creeping in to douse some of the scary, and enticing, fire etched into his expression.

  “I just punched you. What the hell, why would you care?” I scrambled back a few feet, chest heaving, insanely freaked out. “You have to leave me alone. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “I’m here, let me help you.” He carefully climbed to his feet with his hands out in front of him, and I couldn’t take the compassion that snuck across his face, like I needed to be coddled or some stupid weak shit. A line of blood dribbled from his lip. I might be an omega, but I didn’t need his help. Dad might be gone, but I’d find a way to do it all myself. My heart rushed and pounded, and my dick still struggled against my zipper, betraying me.

  “Damn it, go away,” I hissed at him and buried my burning face in my hands.

  4

  Mason

  “No, I won’t leave you here, especially after I came all this way to find you. Don’t you understand? I’ve been searching for you.”

  “Not very good at it,” he grumbled.

  Exasperated, I fought with myself, trying to hold in my irritation the way I might have if I was hanging out with Carlisle when he was being testy. The problem was, talking to Seth and seeing the way he reacted to my closeness, smelling him, feeling his body heat, did things to me physically that being near my best friend certainly never had. I was having trouble connecting to that responsible, grounded man I’d worked hard to be most of my life. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. “I care because you’re not acting like yourself right now. I realize—”

  “What bullshit. How would you even know?” Seth snarked. I flinched at that, and he looked up and bit at his bottom lip. He had a serious point—I didn’t know him well—but I couldn’t back down now.

  “Did you take a hit to the head in the last twenty-four hours?” Hurt squeezed at my chest. I wanted to be with Seth and needed him to want the same thing from me, and that’s why I’d been searching for him all this time; however, if he didn’t want an alpha, this wouldn’t work. No matter how badly I burned for him to embrace me, he was the one with all the power here. I felt like I was free falling. “Do you feel unwell? Did they feed you in jail?”

  “Oh, seriously?” He shook his head and his nose wrinkled like he’d stepped in something foul. “The little omega must have something wrong with him, that’s why he doesn’t want to jump your cock?”

  Sending a quick glance to my crotch, I had a frantic second to wonder if my fly was down, or something even worse, but no, everything was where it should be on that front. He snorted out a laugh and lowered his hands from his face to glare at me. His deep blue eyes were like furious drops of ice that glimmered behind the gloss of his tears. My throat closed up to the size of a straw while we studied each other.

  “I… when did I ever say anything like that to you? I have always treated omegas with respect.”

  His cheeks flushed a bright pink that made his olive skin even more beautiful, and he snapped his teeth my direction, something that sent my instincts roaring to life. My skin prickled with goose bumps. Dragons did that when they fought, and I wanted to take him to the ground and show him exactly what I could do to work some of that aggression off. Would he still snarl at me when I was buried in his body?

  Heat prickled up my spine. The salacious fantasy of him with his legs wrapped around my waist was more my dragon than me—maybe. I stood there in front of him, as vulnerable as I’d ever let myself be with someone, sifting frantically through my mind for some peace to hang onto. I’d seen how Carlisle lost his mind with Haiden, and I didn’t want to be the next dragon to fumble that way while pursuing an omega who might be a true mate. I allowed myself to stare too long at his pretty eyes. Maybe it was too late for me after all and Seth was dead set against anyone claiming him. Maybe his life had been too hard, and we would both lose out on something that could have been beautiful. I tried one more time to find the even-keeled center of myself that I relied upon to do my job, but it was curiously absent.

  I took a deep breath and the rich, vanilla-heavy, baby powder scent that had swelled around Seth invaded my senses. My mouth watered. I wanted to lick that smell from his body. My sight sharpened and I focused on the pulse I could see fluttering at his throat. Seth let out a low, shocked noise.

  “You gotta bring it down there, Mason. Your eyes,” he said furiously, tapping his own brow. I blinked several times and willed myself to relax. After a moment my sight was back to normal. “Did I… partially shift?”

  “Only your eyes. They were amazing,” he said. “I… I mean, sometimes I get these dragony feelings in me.” He shrugged and beat at his chest with one hand, reminding me more of a gorilla. “But that’s really cool. I can’t do anything like that.”

  I smiled at him. “Thank you for the compliment.”

  “Don’t take it real personal. Sunsets are beautiful too.” He frowned, and I couldn’t get enough
of what it did to his pretty mouth. Anything he did fascinated me. Would this be my life from now on?

  I growled in frustration, and he stilled. “Okay, why don’t you let me check you over?”

  “You wanna play doctor? Here on the street?”

  “No.” I pinched the bridge of my nose for a second and then dropped my hand to my side. “I am a doctor. I’m serious. I wouldn’t hurt you when I say I’m trying to help you.”

  “I’m fine.” But his hands were shaking where he had them clasped in front of himself.

  “Just let me—” I took a step forward and he bolted.

  Stunned, I stood there staring after him for a few seconds, his strong, slim muscled body beating at the air and propelling him quickly away. The primal urge to follow him kicked in and my muscles tensed and burned. I wanted to transform so badly it was nearly painful. I could be at his side in seconds as a dragon. In my true form, I could pluck him up and fly away to a safe haven so easily, and then park myself in front of the entrance and keep him there until he came to his senses. I shook my head to clear it, but the thought lingered, and all at once I could see where someone like Vladimir might have gotten the ideas he had. I refused to hurt Seth that way, though. I promised myself then and there that if I couldn’t convince him to come home with me, to mate with me, I would find a way to make myself let this go. It went against every fiber of my being to intentionally harm someone.