The Crime of Protection

by Gloria Martin

  His tongue slid into her mouth and she moaned at the sweet taste combined with the excitement of his hands exploring the exposed skin of her back. Down they traveled, slipping beneath the waistband of her jeans to grasp her firmly by her buttocks and press her hips against his.

  Aspen let out a short bark that brought the two of them back to the moment. Both of them laughed and Laura suggested, “How about we take this up to the bedroom?”

  “Only if you can make it up there,” Paul said playfully with a wicked gleam in his deep brown eyes that she had never seen before.

  Laura smiled back and took off, darting across the room towards the stairs. She made it halfway up before she was scooped off of her feet and into Paul’s arms while she let out a shriek of laughter. Pausing at the top of the stairs, he turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him. Laura took his face in her hands and their eyes locked for a moment before she kissed him, hard, while he carried her into the bedroom.

  The bed was softer than she remembered as he laid her down on top of the crisp white sheets. Laura stretched out on the bed while Paul explored her body with his hands and mouth.

  His hands trailed across her skin, fingertips as light as butterfly kisses, leaving goose pimples in their wake. And then he suddenly grabbed her, his hands warm and firm and strong holding her on either side, assuring her that he had no intentions of ever letting her go.

  Slowly his lips discovered every inch of her body, making sure that every single piece of exposed flesh was getting the attention it deserved. Laura was already trembling with anticipation and she still had most of her clothes on.

  As he kissed around her bra, Laura’s heavy breathing filled his ears. She was breathless, like a winded runner, but did not want him to stop by any means.

  Paul reached around her, where her back was already arched, and unhooked the bra. She felt the release of the material, but he didn’t remove it right away. Instead, he teased her nipples through the sheer fabric, first with his fingers, and then with his warm breath and lightly kissing them.

  Laura let out a small whimper as her breasts began to ache. Paul heard it as if it were a cue and pulled away the bra. The sudden exposure of her nipples made them ache, her arousal was so intense. He covered her breasts with his hands and pulled each one individually towards his mouth.

  His warm and wet tongue circled lazily around her areola before flickering back and forth across her nipple. The sensation was driving Laura out of her mind. He had clearly done plenty of research on the subject.

  While he was sucking on her breasts, his hands were busy unbuttoning the front of her jeans. When they were released, he began to tug them down, revealing her panties. His hands stroked her thighs, coming up from her knees and stopping at her panty line while his mouth still teased her breasts.

  Her hitched breath was becoming ragged. She wanted him so badly she ached and trembled with her need. She let out a soft moan when his fingers finally hooked around her panties and yanked them down. His fingers teased her, trailing across her mound but never going past the labia to find what was inside.

  Suddenly, he removed himself from her completely. He stood over her splayed form and began to remove his remaining clothing. Even just his eyes roaming over her naked body left a tingling trail of sensation that made Laura quiver.

  As he stood over her in his own nakedness, Laura was overcome with her lust. She reached out towards him and his hand met hers. She pulled him towards her. His erect manhood was pressed against her and she could feel the wetness practically dripping for him.

  “I need you,” she whispered breathlessly, “now.”

  Paul pulled back to angle himself for her while she held her breath in anticipation.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she whimpered, quaking with her need as he lifted her legs up into the air.

  Her world exploded as he thrust inside of her. Slowly, he began by sliding out and back into her. It was exquisite pleasure to feel him inside of her, their hips meeting, pressing hard, and releasing.

  Slowly the pace increased and the tension of impending release built between them. Laura’s eyes searched Paul’s face for an indication of where he was. His brows were furrowed, breathing heavy, and a bead of sweat rolled down from his hairline while he pumped in a hard and steady rhythm.

  Laura’s moans increased in pitch as she climbed higher and higher into her ecstasy. She held onto to him tightly, pulling him closer and forcing him to release her legs. Her nails were digging slightly into his shoulders as she pressed herself harder and harder against him, willing their bodies to become one, until she peaked and the world seemed to drop out from beneath her.

  Her breath halted completely for a second as she whispered in his ear, “Now.”

  Paul understood and in a few quick thrusts his body tensed in her embrace and she knew he had found release. He collapsed into her arms and she held him tightly as they lay there on the bed entwined and gasping for breath.

  Laura brushed his loose strands of hair back from his face and dabbed the beads of sweat from his forehead. His arms were locked around her waist and Laura could feel the combined fluids of their bodies dripping out around his still erect penis inside of her.

  Gradually their breathing returned to normal and they untangled their bodies from one another. Laura looked around the room and noted the clothes strewn about and the wet mess that they were laying in. She noted that this was the most disarray she had ever seen in his house and she looked forward to creating more messes with him.

  Paul stood up and Laura got a moment to admire his full figure and just how perfectly he was sculpted. Paul caught her gaze and asked, “What is it? Is my alien-ness showing?”

  Laura laughed, “No. I’m just enjoying the view is all.”

  Paul smirked and remarked, “I bet you would never have guessed that up until now I was a virgin.”

  *****

  Laura awoke the next morning, her legs a bit sore but entirely pleased with herself. She looked over across the pillow and there was Paul, his brown eyes were soft in the morning light.

  “Good morning,” he whispered.

  “Good morning,” she whispered back.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Well, when you finally let me sleep,” she laughed.

  Paul tightened his arm around her. “I thought it was you who was keeping me up.”

  They wrestled around in bed for a bit, their laughter filling the room, until Aspen got concerned enough to bark at them.

  “Guess that means we should get up,” Paul suggested as he scooped her up in his arms.

  A thought struck Laura and she asked, “Paul, of all the kinds of pets, why did you decide to get a dog?”

  He paused for a second. “Well he’s actually… it’s called an accessory unit.” Before Laura’s gasp could turn into anything further, Paul quickly cut her off. “Not him personally, he’s not an alien. But I have this accessory system that I implanted in him. It’s mostly just for gathering data.”

  Laura swallowed her comments about how horrible that was realizing that what he did never hurt Aspen. It was no different than the animals that researchers would tag in the wild. They had a symbiotic relationship, and since neither were harmed she supposed there was no reason to object to it.

  “So,” Paul asked, changing the subject, “what would you like for breakfast?”

  Laura smiled and pulled herself close against his chest. “Can I just have you?”

  THE END

  Bonus Story 2/40

  Pregnant to a Dragon Prince

  “Order up!”

  Kara picked up the burger and fries off the bench in front of her and lazily brought it to the customer. Three years she had worked at this dead-end waitressing job, and it was torture. By the end of her shift she collected what little tips she had earned throughout the 10 hours and started home, in the dark, towards her tiny Chicago flat.

  It was mid-October alre
ady, so the weather had turned cold and a brisk wind bit at her exposed flesh. She pulled her thin, black cardigan tighter over her waitressing uniform and continued on the long walk ahead. As she strolled through the city she lost herself in her thoughts. She imagined living in the beautiful penthouse apartments she passed every day. She wished for an adventure to take hold of her and bring back some of the enjoyment of life her meaningless job had taken from her.

  Half an hour passed and she finally turned down the alley only two streets from her destination. Caught up in her own world she didn’t notice the shadowy figures approaching her, and all of a sudden she was surrounded by three frightening strangers.

  She stopped dead in her tracks. She had been lucky enough to avoid the drug-riddled men who lived throughout this end of town, until this point. All three wore tattered, dirty clothes, their hair was unkempt and they smelled horrific. Kara found herself completely unprepared for the situation that was about to unfold.

  “Where are you heading, sweetheart?” asked the man directly to her right. She opened her mouth to respond but her fear had gotten the better of her and she found herself speechless. The men began to come closer grabbing at her. She tried to dodge their advances but suddenly the glint of silver caught her eye as one of the men pulled out a small knife. All hope she had of escaping vanished. Before she knew it they had both her arms restrained and she felt overwhelmed and helpless.

  The man facing her laughed menacingly, but her gaze was drawn to a bright light behind. As the blinding light neared the men softened their grip enough for her to break free, but in the confusion she ran straight into the arms of one of the strangers. This time he grabbed her around the neck, choking her. As she struggled for breath she couldn’t believe what she saw. It appeared to be a... dragon.

  A dragon towered above the men. Surely this was her imagination. But an inferno that engulfed two of her attackers quickly confirmed her vision. They screamed and ran, completely alight, down the alleyway in the direction from which they came. The orange-red flames trailed behind them as they sped away. Kara could not believe her eyes.

  The last man, who still had Kara by the throat, threw her forcefully to the ground and sped off in the other direction. Kara hit her head on the pavement. She lifted herself up put a hand to her head, where it had hit the ground. Forgetting about the mythical creature standing right before her, she brought her hand back down. It was covered in blood. She was hurt badly. She looked up and remembered. The scaly, purple beast made its way towards her as she blacked out, falling back down onto the cool concrete below.

  *****

  When she awoke she immediately realized this was not her bed, nor her room or anywhere that she had ever been before. It took her a moment, but feeling the bandages atop her head she remembered the events that had unfolded. Had she really seen a dragon?

  Regardless, she was relieved she had not been mugged, or worse. But who, or what, had saved her? This still remained a mystery. It could not have been a dragon. She pulled down the soft, woolen sheets of the bed and lowered her feet to the dirt floor; the room she found herself in was quite old and very simple. The walls were covered in peeling, floral wallpaper while the cracked wooden door was situated only feet from the end of the single bed. She saw that her clothes from the day before folded over the bed head. Whoever had brought her here had also given her a change of clothes; an old fashioned cotton night gown, one befitting her grandmother.

  One of her many questions was answered seconds later when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

  “Come in,” she called cautiously, and a tall, handsome man peeked his head around through the door frame,

  “How are you feeling?” he questioned.

  Confused, Kara replied to whom could only be her rescuer, “I feel a little faint, but other than that I’m fine.”

  “May I ask who you are? And what happened?” she blurted, eager to find out more about this handsome stranger before her.

  “My name is Blaine, I was heading home and saw those men attacking you. I couldn’t just walk by, I had to do something...” he trailed off.

  “I really can’t thank you enough, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there,” she gushed. He took a few steps toward her and sat down on the bed,

  “I couldn’t let those horrible guys hurt such a beautiful young woman,” he said, smiling. She put her hands to her face, attempting to hide her blushing cheeks, embarrassed by his unexpected compliment.

  “Thank you again,” she muttered. “But where am I?”

  He looked a little uneasy and thought for a minute before wording his reply.

  “Since you passed out before I got to you I couldn’t take you home, so I thought the safest thing to do was bring you back here. This is where I live with my... family.”

  “Your family?” she inquired,

  “Yes,” he replied. His abruptness alerted her that she should not push the subject any further, at least not yet. She didn’t know what it was but something about him drew her to him. She couldn’t explain it but it was as if their meeting did not occur by chance at all; as if it was destiny.

  “You can’t stay here long, but I can take you back into the city with me tonight,” he said. His voice shook Kara from entering the impending daydream state she found her slipping into, while staring into his mesmerizing hazel eyes. She was a little disappointed that their encounter would be cut so short, but she suddenly realized she would need to be back for work the following day. If she showed up even a minute late again she would surely be fired. Begrudgingly she accepted the offer and just hours later they left the room and began their journey back to Chicago.

  It seemed strange to her that they had to hurry off in the dead of night,

  “Please, try to be quiet as we leave. I really don’t want to wake anyone,” Blaine said. Why was he so afraid of someone seeing them? She had not seen a single person other than him all day, was she even allowed to be here?

  She was suddenly ushered through a door into what appeared to be a garage. Inside was one lonely, rusted Corvette, it looked to be about 40 years old and the years had not been kind to it. Like a true gentleman, Blaine strode ahead, clearing a path to the car before opening the door for her to climb in.

  Kara stepped gingerly into the passenger seat and once positioned the door clicked shut to her left. As they both strapped in, the car struggled to start, but after several turns of the key they were motoring down the dirt road that led away from Blaine’s home. She peered back over her shoulder to take her first look at the place from the outside.

  It was derelict, with vines covering almost every entrance to the building. The house was not huge, but appeared to have at least two stories, made up of crumbling red brick walls and half-tiled roof. It had not been the most luxurious of accommodation, though Kara could not have anticipated the dilapidated state of the exterior. Quickly she turned back and focused on the road ahead.

  She slept for the majority of the journey, but she was awoken by the car coming to an abrupt halt outside her apartment block. Still slightly drowsy, Kara began her goodbyes.

  “Thank you for everything,” she started. But would they see each other again? She longed to ask. Blaine came around to her side of the door and, taking her hand in his, helped her from the car to the asphalt below. They made their way over to the sidewalk, outside the door to the lobby of her building. Blaine still had hold of her hand as they stood for a moment, each waiting for the other to break the lengthening silence. Finally he spoke,

  “I guess this is goodbye,” he said. She couldn’t help but sense the sadness in his voice. Quickly his tone changed to one that was a little more upbeat and cheerful as he continued,

  “It was lovely to meet you Kara, I really enjoyed your company today. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to talk to anyone outside the family, and I couldn’t have asked for someone more beautiful than you,” he gushed.

  She was touched again by h
is kind words, it had been so long since any man had given her this kind of attention, and she was flattered. She had to find out if they would again meet.

  “Will I see you again?” she asked, unable to hold it in any longer. She had to find out if their paths would cross once more.

  “Perhaps,” he smiled.

  And with that he hastily jumped back into the car and was gone.

  *****

  Each night for the next few months Kara experienced the same recurring dream, and it began in the alley where she had been rescued from attack that fateful night. In the dream, every time she found herself walking alone, but instead of the men emerging from the shadows ahead she found herself face to face with the dragon she thought she had seen. Close up she could see the individual purple scales that shone crimson as they moved into the moonlight. Its eyes were earthy and danced between shades of green and brown. She couldn’t help feeling that, looking at the creature close up, it seemed familiar somehow. The nostrils of the beast flared as it breathed deeply, taking in her scent, analyzing her almost. She stared back, unmoving, with the dragon’s face just inches from her own. Without any fear, she reached forward and caressed the creature before her. Its scales were surprisingly warm to the touch, and as smooth as silk. It moved further forward until their faces were touching. She closed her eyes for a moment as she lost herself in the claws of a dragon.

  But just as quickly as their meeting had begun, the dragon pushed her back and began to run in the opposite direction.

  “Wait!” she called. Its tail lashed around, trailing behind like a snake, slithering through the alley. The dragon beckoned for her to join it as its gigantic wings spread wide, catching the wind beneath them. Looking back towards her, the dragon lifted from the pavement and took off across the Chicago skyline.

  Kara continued to run along behind, arms reaching for him, wanting so badly for this majestic being to whisk her away; wherever it was going she wanted to go too. Slowly the dragon grew smaller and smaller until it was lost in the night sky. She was left alone again in the dank alley, wondering what could have been. Just as she felt that all was lost, a weight suddenly pushed down from around her neck. Upon looking down she saw one of the most exquisite pieces of jewelry she could have imagined. Attached to a delicate golden chain a pendant shimmered, with a purple gem the size of a golf ball. As she lost herself in the gem’s haunting beauty, she saw that it too shone with a crimson glow in the moonlight, mimicking the scales of the dragon.