Under Fire: Dragon Shifter Romance (ComeShift Series Book 2)

by Sky Winters

  She ended the call and put her phone back into her purse, setting her purse down on the coffee table that was actually a big, brown chest that a pirate might use to store his treasure. Doug brought out her glass of soda and set it on the chest as well, sitting beside her but keeping his distance. He definitely gave her space and let her do things in her own time. That was something she really admired about him. Maybe the army had trained him in the ways of being a gentleman, too.

  Reaching out, she picked up the glass of Diet Coke and took a long sip. The wind in her face from the motorcycle ride, as well as nervousness, made her thirsty. She set the glass back down and looked at him, smiling and feeling a bit awkward because she didn’t know what to say next. She was rusty when it came to dating, if that’s what this was now, and she wasn’t really prepared to make the first moves.

  All of a sudden, Doug moved closer to her and put his arm around her. “You’re not afraid to sit close to me, are you?”

  Melanie shook her head. “I wondered why you were so far.”

  He kissed her deeply and she slid back against the leather couch, ending up underneath him and not minding that one bit. They made out for several wonderful moments, and then he broke his mouth away from hers and looked into her eyes, green into blue.

  “Do you want to move to the bed?” he asked her, his voice coming out in a breathy whisper which she found exhilarating.

  She nodded and he kissed her again before taking her hands and gently pulling her up to her feet. He led her around the couch to the bed. Melanie started to take off her shoes, because for some reason her brain told her that was the most important thing to remove.

  “I’ll be right back,” he suddenly said, rushing off down the hall hear the front door. To the bathroom, she assumed.

  Melanie removed her blouse next, and her slightly sparkly black pants. She carefully placed her clothes on the back of the couch in a neatly folded pile. She sincerely hoped that Doug wouldn’t mind dating a mom, but she guessed that they were already past the point of worrying about that. He clearly liked her!

  When he came back out of the hallway, he was wearing only his t-shirt and a pair of dark blue boxers. He was also carrying something small in a shiny, gold wrapper. A condom.

  She was so grateful that he thought about that. The last thing Melanie wanted was to be pregnant again, at least not for a long time.

  Sitting beside her on the bed, he gently removed her bra, cupping her right breast in his hand and kissing it. He slowly slid her black panties down and took them off, tossing them onto the couch and knocking her pile of clothes down onto it with her panties.

  He carefully removed his boxers and put the condom on his lengthy, thick cock. She lay back on the bed, resting her head on one of the pillows and looked at him. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The last time she’d had sex, it had not ended well for her. Jake would always violently convince her to have sex with him somehow, usually so he would stop slapping her around, and she often spent the week afterward with some sort of bruise or limp from his abuse.

  She didn’t expect that from Doug, though she was still haunted by those memories.

  “Hey,” he said soothingly, positioning himself between her legs but not moving past that. He still had his shirt on. “Do you really want this?” he asked, looking deeply into her eyes. “We can stop if you’re—”

  “Yes,” she replied, reaching over and stroking the side of his hard cock. “I want this.”

  Smiling a dimpled smile at her, Doug got on top of her, kissing her lips and her cheeks. “I’ll go slow, okay? I promise.” He could tell that she was nervous and a little scared, so he was doing her best to make everything comfortable for her.

  He pressed himself into her, caressing her cheeks as he slowly thrust. Melanie reached up to his face and ran her fingertips over his dimple. She leaned towards him and snatched his mouth to her own, kissing him and grinding her hips a bit so she could move herself against him.

  When she pulled her mouth from his, she batted her lashes at him. “You can go faster, if you want,” she said seductively. Suddenly, she did not feel afraid. Lust for Doug had melted the fear away. All she wanted now was for him to be inside of her, filling her up and driving memories of the bad guys away.

  Smirking a little, he held onto her and sped up his thrusting. He licked his fingertips and gently rubbed them against her clit.

  “Ooohh,” she moaned. “Oh, Doug!”

  “Yeah,” he murmured back, “You like it like this, Ohio?”

  Suddenly, something came over her and she pushed him off of her, slamming him down onto the bed and straddling him instead. She bounced against his cock, grinding against him and moving him around. He tightly grabbed hold of her butt and lolled his head from side to side, enjoying what she was doing to him.

  Melanie placed her hands on his chest, running her fingers through his chest hair and digging her nails into his skin, careful not to puncture too far in. She leaned over him, feeling the pleasure mounting inside her. All at once, it felt as though her brain itself was screaming.

  Doug took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked. She closed her eyes tightly as she came. “Aaahhhh, yes! Oh, Doug! Doug! DOOUUUGGGG!”

  His neighbors were all probably well aware that Doug was getting laid this evening. He smirked up at her and, once she had calmed down, resumed his position on top of her. He quickened his pace as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She watched his dog tags as they jangled back and forth, hitting against his chest as he thrusted. She arched her back a little and swiveled around beneath him, sensing that he was about to cum. He closed his eyes tightly. “Aww, yesss!” he hissed as he came. “H’aaahh…”

  He pulled out of her and took the full condom off, tossing it into the trash can nearby. Melanie watched him, missing the closeness they’d just shared already. Happily, as soon as he was done cleaning himself up, he came back to cuddle her.

  “Where have you been all of my life?” she asked him. “Oh, Iraq, that’s right.” She giggled a little, feeling like it was time to be silly after what she’d just felt. Her head felt light and dizzy in a good way.

  Doug laughed. “I wasn’t in Iraq for twenty-four years!”

  She smiled and kissed him.

  He kept his face close to hers when the kiss was over, their noses brushing ever so slightly against each other. “I think I’ve fallen for you,” he whispered. “And I don’t just fall and get back up, Melanie…”

  Gazing into his eyes, she blushed. “I think I’ve fallen for you, too.”

  They lay beside each other one the bed, naked, looking into each other’s eyes for a pleasant, long time. They hardly said a word, but when they did, it was to compliment each other.

  “Being away from you is going to be hard,” she told him.

  He cuddled her close to him. “I’m just a Harley ride away. You can see me whenever you want.”

  The trouble was that, for now at least, she wanted to see him all the time. She wanted to make up for lost time when she had thought he was no more than a thug.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A Hero’s Welcome

  As they rode down the street towards Casey’s house the next morning, they slowed their speed and Melanie felt as though something wasn’t right. Sure enough, when they got into the driveway, she recognized Jake’s car parked there behind hers. As she and Doug stopped near it, the front door opened and the man Melanie was hoping she would never see again emerged.

  He was wearing dark blue jeans and a black button up shirt. She had a momentary lapse in judgment, thinking that he looked sexy like that, but then she gave her brain a mental slap and leapt off the bike with Doug. They both quickly removed their helmets and set them aside.

  “What are you doing here?” she snapped at the man she used to love.

  “I came here looking for my wife,” Jake said. “I thought you’d be hiding out with one of your old friends. And here you are. Who the hell is that?” He g
estured to Doug who was standing behind Melanie, slowly cracking his knuckles as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

  From the front window of Casey’s house, Melanie could see her friend was watching. She didn’t see Stevie. Casey had most likely ushered him into his bedroom at the sound of the yelling outside. Thank goodness, Melanie thought.

  “If I wanted to be your wife anymore, I wouldn’t be hiding out with one of my friends,” she pointed out to Jake. “Anyway, I’m not hiding out. I’m living my life and taking care of my son. It’s over, Jake. So why don’t you just get in your car and go back to Ohio?”

  “It’s not over!” Jake yelled. “I’m sorry about the other night, okay? But you have really got to learn to stop talking back to me.”

  “The only person who has anything to learn around here is you,” Doug said. “She said she doesn’t want to be with you anymore. Leave her alone.”

  Jake pointed a finger at Doug. “You stay out of this, pal.”

  Looking him over, Jake appeared to be taken aback by the fact that Melanie was now spending her time with a biker guy. “You leave home and end up gallivanting around with this freak!” He tried to approach Melanie, but Doug pushed him back when he came close. “Melanie, what are you doing hanging around this- this jailbird?”

  “He’s not a jailbird,” she replied. “He’s an American hero.”

  Jake scoffed. “Oh, please.” He tried to push forward again, but Doug pushed him back even further.

  “I said leave her alone!” Doug bellowed. Suddenly, he punched Jake squarely in the face, sending him reeling backwards. He was all set to hit him again, but it turned out that the one punch had been enough to get Jake good and dizzy. “How surprising, the big man who hits his wife can’t handle one measly punch.”

  Clutching his cheek, Jake shook his head as blood came from his nose. “You’re both bullshit,” he spat. “I’m not wasting my time with either of you.” He got into his car without another word and drove away. Melanie didn’t think that he would be back again. She was with the man she needed now.

  “Are you okay?” she asked Doug, giving him a gentle hug. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  He shook his head. “My hand hurts a little, which is strange because I only punched a numbskull.”

  “Aww, let me kiss it and make it better.” She kissed the knuckles on his right hand.

  Just then, the front door opened and Casey came outside. “Is he gone now?” she asked, frightened. “I heard him in the driveway and I didn’t know what to do. I made sure to keep Stevie in his room. I’m so glad you two were here to get rid of him!”

  When she got a look at the handsome – if unique-looking – Doug Albright, she smiled at him and Melanie. “Please come inside.”

  They went inside Casey’s house and sat down in the kitchen.

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she told Doug as she poured three cups of coffee. “Melanie has told me about you, but not enough!”

  Melanie blushed. “I didn’t want to divulge every detail.”

  He thankfully took a mug of coffee and took a long sip. “Mmm,” he said, “Thank you.”

  Smiling, Melanie got out of her chair and went to the bedroom to get Stevie. She brought him out by the hand. “This is someone I want you to meet, Stevie.” The little boy looked up at the tattooed veteran. “This is Doug Albright,” she told her son. “He was a soldier and now he rides a motorcycle so he can help other soldiers.”

  Stevie appeared to be deeply impressed.

  “Hello, Stevie,” Doug said to him, smiling.

  Looking at him, Stevie pointed. “You have a tiger on your arm.”

  Doug chuckled. “That I do… What’s your favorite animal?”

  Stevie thought about it. “I like tigers,” he said. “Did you know that tigers are the largest member of the cat family? I used to think it was lions, but no.”

  Melanie grinned proudly and pet Stevie’s hair. She loved that her son was smart and had gotten away from her horrible ex-husband unscathed.

  “Hey, Stevie, have you ever been on a motorcycle?” Doug waggled his eyebrows.

  “No, of course not,” Melanie said. “He’s only two!”

  “Only two?!” Doug asked, pretending to be shocked. “I thought you were a graduate student!”

  They went outside to show Stevie the Harley and Melanie agreed to let Doug put him onto the bike – just to sit! – for a picture. “He’s a cool kid,” he said once Casey had taken Stevie back inside for his dinner. “I like him.”

  Melanie smiled up at him. “Well, I’m glad you approve.”

  They kissed and Doug soon rode off on his bike. He had a Stars and Stripes meeting to attend and she was not about to make him late. After all, his motorcycle club was made up of heroes.

  THE END

  OUTLAW BIKER

  Angelina stood looking at the beat up old Ford her father had owned since the mid-seventies. He had brought it new in 1974 and babied it for over forty years now. Well, he had until recently. Stepping out the front door of his house, the same one she had grown up in, she walked toward it and sighed heavily as the door creaked open. It had been years since she had driven his old truck. It had been years since she had driven anything, actually. Living in New York, having a car was more of a nuisance than a convenience.

  It seemed a bit surreal to even be back here. Angelina had left the small town in which she was born when she was eighteen and never looked back. She had attended college in New York and settled there. Being back here seemed about as foreign to her as the city once had when she first arrived there.

  The truck hadn’t barely been driven in a year, so she was surprised when it cranked right up. Her cousin had told her he stopped by every week to start it up and running it around the driveway to keep it from rotting, but it was still very old and sitting too long had a way of speeding the deterioration process.

  It was already nearly eight at night, so she got going. Around here, they began rolling up the streets after dark. All of the shops would close soon and that included the grocery store that she needed to get to. Her father’s farm was at least ten miles out from the little Save a Penny that sufficed for food purchases. Angelina was nearly halfway there when the truck suddenly began hitching and sputtering.

  “No! You piece of crap! I don’t have time for this!”

  Pulling the truck over to the side of the road, she looked over the warning gauges. Nothing was blinking red. She heard a loud pop and the truck shuttered to a complete shutdown. Cursing under her breath, she got out and looked around. Frustrated, she reached in her purse for her phone, growing more exasperated as she realized she had left it on her father’s kitchen table back at his house.

  It was unlikely that she was going to find anyone passing by at this hour way out here, so she grabbed her purse and the keys, heading closer into town. It was equal distance back to her Dad’s as it was there, but if memory served her correctly, there was a farm a couple of miles further down that belonged to the Andersons, old family friends. It would be quicker to get help from them than to go all the way back to her Dad’s place on foot.

  She was surprised when she the lights from an old restaurant called the Roadside Diner still on. They used to close at eight. Either they had extended their hours or maybe they were just still there cleaning up and hadn’t turned the lights off yet. Either way, she could get help there. She sped up her pace, hoping they didn’t shut down and leave before she made it that far.

  As the restaurant came closer into view, she realized it had been renamed “The Pit Stop” and the parking lot was chock full of motorcycles. She wasn’t thrilled about the hometown diner being turned into some sort of biker hangout or the fact that she was so desperate for assistance that she was going to have to go in there. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the parking lot and opened the door leading inside.

  Looking around, she saw nothing but bikers. It was definitely not her kind of place at all. She headed toward
the bar, where she could see at least one woman working. There was something familiar about her that Angelina couldn’t quite place, but the woman seemed to know exactly who she was, smiling at her fondly.

  “Hey. Do you have a payphone?”

  “Payphone? Do those still even exist, Angelina?”

  “I guess not. Listen, my Dad’s truck broke down and my cell phone is at his house. I need to call a tow truck and someone to pick me up.”

  “You ain’t gonna get no tow until morning, hon. You can use the bar phone to call for a pick up though.”

  “Tow trucks don’t come out at night at all?”

  “Well, they do when they are able to, but if you look right over yonder in the corner, you’ll see that Bubba Henry is as drunk as a skunk. Since he owns the only towing place in town, I’d not recommend him not towing anything tonight.”

  “Good call . . . and crap, I don’t know anyone’s number. It’s all in my phone.”

  “Listen, I get off in about an hour. You know I just live down the road from your Dad’s. I can get you home and you can get the truck home in the morning.”

  “Look, I’m sorry. I haven’t been home in a long time and you look really familiar, but I can’t think to say your name.”

  “Why, it’s Holly Robinson, honey. We lived over by the bridge down from your house. You probably don’t remember me because I’m several years younger, but you probably remember my brother, Tommy.”

  “Oh, of course. Yes. Tommy was in my class. I’m sorry, Holly.”