by T. Cobbin
“Fuck you.” Blake pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket. “I’ve come prepared this time.” He laughed.
Dennenth inhaled the scents in the alley—dirt, grime, his mate, the other males, and a hint of silver. The only scent of Freddie was coming from Sarah. So was Blake lying? Did he actually have the boy? It was a risk now he was willing to take.
“Silver fucking bullets, man. You...whatever you are, these will kill you, right?” Blake muttered, waving the gun around.
“Is it safe?” Dennenth called out down the alley, not taking his eyes off his foe before him.
Blake frowned at Dennenth’s words.
“Yeah, go for it.” A low, growled answer shot back.
Dennenth watched Blake pale, his earlier question forgotten. He turned to see three men walking up behind him.
“You fucking bitch. I said alone!” Blake pulled Sarah toward him and held her in a chokehold with his arm, the gun pointed at her head.
Dennenth nodded to Sarah, and she threw her elbow back into Blake’s stomach, startling the man and winding him in the process, causing him to release her. Dennenth had been teaching her a little self-defense since the last time, although he swore she’d never need it. Sarah ran toward him, and he swiftly pushed her behind him.
In a matter of seconds, the alley filled with two huge arse dragons, one red and one blue, along with two grizzly bears.
“What the fuck, man, what the fuck?” Blake reached for the gun he’d dropped but with a snap from Pete’s dragon behind him he stopped.
Dennenth’s dragon scrunched up its nose in disgust. The man had peed himself again.
Troy stepped forward between the two grizzly bears. “Where’s the boy?” he asked, crouching low, his voice rolling like thunder.
“Fuck you. You kill me and you’ll never see him again.”
Troy stood and straightened his suit. “Who’s first?” He looked around.
Dennenth’s dragon stepped forward and snapped his jaws.
He heard a ringing in the background, then Sarah’s voice came out in a relieved whisper. “Thank you so much, Rosa, for ringing back. I love you.” With a beep Sarah’s hand ran along his flank. She couldn’t get past him as the body of his dragon filled the alley. He did however hear her. “Blake doesn’t have him. Freddie has been at home with Rosa all along.”
Those few words sentenced Blake to his death.
Blake must have heard too, because he began ranting. “What the fuck would I want that cretin for? Sarah is mine, he was a fucking mistake. She loved him more than she loved me.”
With each word Blake said it further affirmed Dennenth and his dragon’s decision to end the man’s life.
Blake tried to get to his feet, but every time he moved a claw from either of the dragons would land him back on his arse.
* * * *
“Dennenth?” Sarah said, looking up, waiting to see the face of his dragon.
With a twist of his long neck he turned and looked down at her with questioning eyes. Sarah looked up at her beautiful red dragon’s face. His eyes were full of anger, and a request for permission. She could hear Blake ranting in the background but didn’t care. Freddie wasn’t a mistake. Dennenth could fill in any gap the man left behind. Lifting a hand to stroke his tail, she collected together all the emotions coming at her though their bond and knew what the man and beast were asking of her. Her dragon lowered its head, letting her run a hand over the fine scales on its face.
“I love you no matter what,” she whispered. “Make us safe.”
With that the beast nudged her further behind him into another pair of arms. Looking up, she recognized Brock. He was a long time friend of Troy’s. He was also a bear shifter. He and his friend Cole were very interested in Melanie.
Brock walked her back through the club to her friends so she could let them know she was okay. After she said a quick farewell he led her to the front door where Troy, Pete, and Dennenth were waiting. Giving her a nod, he walked away, leaving her with the three men.
“That was a brave thing you did.” Troy looked at her. “Stupid too, but I’m sure Dennenth will take care of that.” He winked. “Look after my friend.” With that he walked away into the club. Pete nodded at her then followed Troy.
“Let’s go home. I have a pain in the arse to take care of.” Dennenth’s deep, Scottish accent rolled through her as it had done the first time she’d heard it. Although she could feel the annoyance he felt, she could also feel and hear the love in his voice.
“Are you calling me a pain or an arse? And before we go anywhere, do you have something else to tell me?” She turned and looked up into his face.
“Something else?” he asked with a frown.
“You have an enhanced sense of smell, do you not?”
“Yes...why are y... Oh...you mean...” He pulled her toward him, placing his hands on her lower stomach. The left side of his lips lifted in a cocky smirk.
“How long have you known?” she asked.
“Since the night I took you in the pool. Think Freddie will mind having a brother or sister?” he asked, kissing her forehead.
“He’ll love it.” She smiled at him. “Take me home, big boy.”
Epilogue
The move had gone swimmingly. They had been on the island now for a few months, and although it was a lot colder than London, Sarah loved it. The cold nights were hardly felt in front of the huge blazing fire or cuddled up next to Dennenth in their bed.
One thing that surprised Sarah was Freddie. Before moving she had sat Freddie down and explained that Blake had died and wouldn’t be bothering them anymore. Of course, she didn’t tell him that he’d been turned into a smoldering pile of ash behind Dragon’s Heart.
When it had come time to put up the tent in his new bedroom he used as a safe place Freddie had bravely said he didn’t need it anymore, because he had a magical red dragon that protected him now—that was due to Dennenth mentioning that the new house was fully dragon protected when they had moved in.
After talking about it for a week the pair of them had decided it might be a good idea to introduce Dennenth’s dragon—who was now called Flame—while Freddie was young enough and carefree not to be too scared of him. The boy was ecstatic. He was even more overjoyed to learn that two more dragons lived nearby whom he had also recently met. They were now named Tinker Bell and Pan. The only drawback was that Freddie was constantly asking to go for rides, and of course his grandparents willingly obliged when they could.
He hadn’t uttered a word about them in school, which wasn’t too worrisome being as three-quarters of the children there were shifters themselves. He would learn as he got older that there were quite a few more dragons and other kinds of shifters around.
Sarah was in her last month of pregnancy. She still couldn’t get over the fact it was a lot quicker than her pregnancy with Freddie. She was a whole lot bigger, to her discomfort. Dennenth and his parents called it a miracle. Multiple births for dragon shifters was extremely rare. Having triplets had never been heard of. His mother had turned into a mother hen whereas Dennenth had turned into a rooster, puffing his chest out in pride if anyone asked about the babies. Being he shared a bond with each of the unborn babies he shared what he could with Sarah, especially the fact that they were having two sons and a daughter.
Her friends had just left after flying over and throwing her a surprise baby shower. All five women were in different stages of pregnancy themselves, so they sat drinking very virgin drinks and either laughing or complaining about various symptoms of their pregnancies, while the men stood in the kitchen drinking beers and slapping Dennenth on the back. Sarah missed her friends, but she also loved it when they went home.
She was currently sitting on the sofa with Dennenth massaging her feet.
“I love you.” She couldn’t help but tell him while sending warmth through their bond.
“And I you, Mrs. Sharp.”
“Even with this huge bump that
gets in the way?”
Lifting her feet, he moved to kneel in front of her and slid a hand into her hair. “Even with our younglings inside of you.”
He moved closer and began nibbling at her lips. He slid his tongue along them, and then slipped it inside her mouth while moving his hand under her knees. He stood, lifting her with ease, and carried her to the bed.
Every night without fail he showed just how much he loved being inside of her. He also demonstrated every day and night that no matter what she looked like he would always love her. His heart was hers forever and a day.
Dragon’s Heart: Pete’s Precious
A dragon shifter finds his mate, but now he’s put her in danger. He has to protect her at any cost, because he can’t handle losing another person he loves.
Pete had his heart ripped to pieces years ago when his family was murdered in their home. He left the island his family owned, vowing never to return.
He’s spent years searching for his mate, someone to help ease the pain and give him a reason to live. As soon as he sees Wendy he knows she’s the one. And for some unexplainable reason he feels the needs to take her to his island and show her where he grew up. With her by his side, he thinks he might be able to face the scene of the crime, and maybe he can even forgive himself for not being able to save his family.
And while they’re there he plans to tell Wendy the truth about himself—he’s a dragon shifter. Surely that won’t freak her out, will it?
Arriving at the island, Pete quickly discovers he’s put the woman he loves in danger. Someone evil—the person responsible for his family’s death, he believes—is lurking on the island, and now he’s coming after them. But Pete refuses to lose another person he loves to this lunatic.
Content Warning: contains strong language, some violence, and lots of hot, steamy sex scenes
Chapter 1
Fuck, why did her head hurt? Wendy narrowed her eyes and lifted a hand to the nape of her neck where the pain seemed to emanate from. She hissed out a breath when she touched a small lump on the back of her skull. She attempted to look around, but the pain caused by the setting sun seared her eyes and shot through her head like a bolt of electricity, making her to shut her eyes again. However, she was able to make out that she was in a car park, and her little red beetle was parked beside where she now sat on the cold, concrete ground.
Slowly, the memories of what had happened formed through the darkness of her brain. She’d been coaxed into a mercy greasy food mission for her heavily pregnant friend Amy. The last thing Wendy remembered was walking back to her car afterward, giggling with Melanie, another of her friends. Her other two pals, Amy and Sarah, had pottered slowly behind them at a relaxed pace.
As the haziness of waking up wore off Wendy heard the thundering of footsteps coming toward her. A pair of warm arms and hands scooped her up off the ground and into a muscled male lap.
“I’ve got you, sugar,” a deep, sexy voice said.
She looked up into the piercing, dark blue eyes of Pete. She was close enough to see the dark ring around the edge of them. Pete was a bouncer at a club called Dragon’s Heart. That was where she’d first met him. Although she thought he was handsome and found herself incredibly drawn to the man, she only really knew him as Troy’s friend and employee. Troy was the owner of Dragon’s Heart, and he was also Amy, her pregnant friend’s fiancé.
Another wave of pain and nausea had Wendy closing her eyes briefly. When it subsided she opened them again and looked around. She spotted Melanie not far from them, sitting against another car, rubbing her head with a frown on her face. Looking around more, Wendy’s heart skipped a beat and she began to panic. Frantically, she pushed against Pete’s arms, trying to get loose of his hold.
“Let me go please,” she begged. “Where are they? Where are Amy and Sarah?”
Pained eyes looked down at her from Pete’s handsome face, and his arms crushed around her more firmly. “Troy and Dennenth will find them,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean? Where are they?”
He shook his head slightly. “We aren’t sure yet.”
Anger flamed inside of her. “So how the hell are you going to find them, numbnuts?” Even more fire burned inside her when he smiled back at her and winked.
“We have our ways.”
In the distance Wendy could hear the beginnings of multiple sirens. She pushed against Pete’s arms again, and this time he released her. She scrabbled over to Melanie, and they hugged each other tightly until finally the car park filled with various uniformed men.
She hadn’t seen Pete move, but when a shadow filled the spot where she and Melanie sat the pair of them looked up to find him standing over them. He carefully dropped Amy and Sarah’s handbags into her lap.
“Better take these, lass. The girls will need them when they’re found.”
Tears filled her eyes and she began to cry. Where were her friends?
“Thank you, Pete,” Melanie whispered. “When we give these back to them, I’m going to fill the damn things with Smarties or M-and-M’s.”
Wendy couldn’t help but chuckle. Knowing Melanie those bags would indeed be filled with lots of candy. Melanie had a hard childhood. Her mother had been a drunk, and her father liked little girls. She’d been in foster care from the age of five and placed in one home after another. She’d become firm friends with Bobbie at the age of sixteen, and moved in with her to finish up school and college. For Melanie to fill their friends’ bags with candy was her way of showing them she loved them, being the words would never slip past her lips.
* * * *
Hospital, a few hours later.
“There is absolutely no reason I should be here. I honestly feel fine,” Wendy told a nurse who had yet again come over to take her blood pressure.
And she did feel fine. Her head felt a whole lot better after Pete had rubbed her neck in the accident and emergency area; it no longer felt like a cannon ball was rolling around in it. She was tired, but then it had been a long day.
A low growl filled the air. Pete sat staring at her from the standard green, leather hospital chair beside her bed. The insufferable, brawny man with sleeves of tattoos had accompanied her and Melanie to the hospital via ambulance. He hadn’t left her side once. She squinted her eyes and glared back at him, pursing to her lips.
“Keep doing that and I’ll take it as an invitation to come over there and plant my lips on yours.” His mouth lifted in a lopsided smirk, which just added to her annoyance.
“In your dreams.” She pouted.
“No, sugar, in yours, although I could make that an explosive reality.”
“You have to sleep sometime. And I have a nice vial of superglue—a Melanie gift—with your name on it,” she threatened. “It’s amazing what that stuff can do when you use it in combination with fingers and furniture.” Wendy had to look away from the scowling man to hide her smile.
She watched the nurse gather her medical equipment and walk away, slotting Melanie’s medical chart at the end of the bed as she did. Although Pete was handsome and very tempting to look at, and made her think all kinds of naughty thoughts, at the moment all she wanted to do was go home, curl up in bed, and sleep the rest of the weekend away.
Wendy took a quick glance at the ward, looking over at her friends, then she laid down and gave into the bone-weary tiredness from the day. Both she and Melanie had been brought into the hospital from the car park. They had still been sitting in the accident and emergency area when Sarah, Amy, and her newborn son had been brought in a few hours later. It turned out that Amy had gone into labor when she in the back of the kidnapper’s van. Luckily, Sarah, who had a five-year-old son of her own, knew a little about what to do and helped Amy out with giving birth. By the time they arrived at the hospital, they were okay, just a little worse for wear. But upon the insistence of three huge men—and a possible large donation to the hospital—the doctors admitted all of them.
Amy had been
taken to the maternity ward, whereas Wendy and her friends had been moved to an overnight observation ward. Dennenth, a friend of Troy and Pete’s, was sitting beside Sarah’s bed. Sarah looked as pissed about him sitting there as Wendy was. Both Pete and Dennenth were bouncers at Dragon’s Heart, a posh nightclub in the center of London. Wendy and her friends had met the men a few months ago when Troy had assigned them to be their personal bodyguards.
That night their friend Amy had been accosted by her long-lost and estranged nutter of a mother who’d also knocked Wendy on her arse. It was Pete who had picked her up off the floor and stopped her from pounding the woman’s butt into the ground. He had both shocked and calmed her with a few sexy words.
“I love your fire, sugar. One day I’m going to lick you all over and fuck you ’til the sun sets. Once it does I’m going to do it all over again ’til the sun rises just to see how much you burn.”
Wendy had to admit that he’d done a pretty good job of making her panties wet. He’d also had a starring role in plenty of her dreams since then. She lay her head on the hospital pillow, staring intently at the man who was doing the same back at her. Finally, her eyelids dropped closed and she gave into sleep.
Wendy wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep, only that something had woken her some time later. She opened her eyes to see Pete still sitting in the hospital chair beside her bed. The ward was quiet apart from the occasional rustle of sheets with someone moving, a cough here, or a snore there.
Pete’s eyes were closed, and his head was tilted up slightly, resting on the back of the chair. His neck muscles were tight and sinewy, showing his pronounced Adam’s apple. His nose was long and straight, his lips full and kissable. His chest muscles stretched the material of his t-shirt. The man was huge, as in bodybuilder, I-can-pull-a-truck huge. He made her feel tiny. She was smaller in height than her friends, but he was ridiculously taller than she was. His trousers were tight against his legs.
