by Jules Tyler
He backed away, surrendering to her request, “Maybe that would be for the best.”
A knock sounded at the door, driving a knife through the intensity in the room. Startled, McKinzy rushed past Adrian and opened the door. It was Elijah.
“Is the rumor true?” He rushed out.
“What rumor?” McKinzy glanced over her shoulder at Adrian.
“The one about us having a dragon shifter among us?”
“Who told you that?” Adrian asked from over her shoulder.
“I can’t reveal my sources to you!” Elijah stammered, “So is it? Is it true?”
“Yeah, it’s true. But I don’t want anyone disturbing him. Give him his space. This is one shifter we don’t want to be pissing off,” McKinzy sounded relieved.
Elijah lit up, “I knew it! I knew it was true! I can’t believe Duke was right. I thought he was just yanking my dick.”
McKinzy went silent, eyeing Elijah as Adrian chuckled, “So Duke told you that huh? Thought you couldn’t reveal your sources?”
Elijah turned white, “I...I didn’t say that.”
“Sure you did, just now. Right before you said that Duke was yanking your dick,” McKinzy cocked an eyebrow at him with humor in her tone.
“Well so much for being discreet. Now that Elijah knows, the whole camp is gonna know.”
“Let him tell. We’ll hold a meeting in the mess hall tonight to alert everyone to his arrival. They’ll need to be prepared.” McKinzy smiled at Adrian and stuck her hand out, “So...Friends?”
Adrian forced a smile and shook her hand in agreement, “Friends.”
Chapter Eight
A hush came over the mess hall as McKinzy and Adrian entered it. It definitely had the appearance of a summer camp eating space, but that was the least of McKinzy’s concerns at the moment. As she made her way to the front, she could hear small whispers from the men floating through the crowd.
“What’s a woman doing up here?” A burly man, who could easily pass as a panda shifter because of how rotund he was, asked the wiry, rat-looking man to his left.
“Beats me, but I’d love to get me some of that ass. It’s been entirely too long since I got my rod wet, if you catch my drift.”
Most of the men just watched her walk to the front of the room like she was a meal to a starving man in the desert. Obviously, there was a need to introduce some manners to these men, as well as potentially some female companionship. McKinzy could hear Adrian trying to choke down the growl that was brewing in his chest. She gave a knowing smile. It made her feel good that someone would protect her from anything, even though she was well beyond needing it. Finding a spot front and center, she took a deep breath to find one last moment of composure.
Clearing her throat, she commanded the same attention she had with the officers the night before, “I know none of you know me yet, but I am McKinzy Regan. I’ll be taking over Warden Michaelson’s position here. I’ll be making time to go over everyone’s file and getting to know your face. But please allow me to be clear; touch me without permission, make any sort of inappropriate advance on me, and I will not hesitate to end you.” She shot a warning glance towards the panda and the rat, “That being advised, there is one other item that needs to be addressed. We received an unexpected new arrival this morning by the name of Cole Drakone. He is a dragon shifter. We’ve assigned him to a cabin of his own so as to avoid any unwanted...challenges with him. Please believe me when I say you do not want to be on the wrong side of his temper, nor mine. I am putting into policy as of now; anyone who taunts him, pesters him or in any way attempts to piss off his inner monster will be put down. Do I make myself clear?”
She could see nods throughout the crowd. She smiled to herself. She could officially count her first big meeting with the inmates a success. “Now that we have that straightened out, please excuse me,” she nodded and walked back out the way she had entered.
“It’s rude to tell others about a shifter’s animal, ya know,” Cole’s voice came from behind her.
Whipping back around, she spotted him blending into the shadows. The little hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. Honestly, what was it about this guy that set warning signals off like crazy with her dragon?
“I think it was highly unnecessary,” he said, stepping between her and the trail ahead, forcing her back towards the wall of the mess hall.
“Actually, I feel that it was highly necessary. I don’t think I need to remind you, but we are entirely surrounded by mountains and a little bit of dragon fire goes a long way. I don’t want to risk these men losing their homes, or even their lives, because someone decided to piss you or your dragon off,” she folded her arms and allowed her eyes to bore into his.
He put a hand over his mouth in a mocking way, “I am hurt. Let me tell you. I thought that would just blend in and go about my business as usual here.”
“And what kind of business is that exactly?” McKinzy ground out.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, sweet cheeks.”
She pressed her lips together in frustration before responding, “As a matter of fact, I would. It’s my job to see to everyone’s safety, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re up to something here. There are too many unknowns with you.”
“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” He turned back to the shadows and disappeared.
Great...he likes to make an entrance and an exit. This guy is gonna be trouble with a capital T.
“Please tell me you didn’t expect him to come clean to you,” Adrian shook his head in disbelief as he appeared on her right.
“No, but it was worth a shot. He rubs me the wrong way.”
“I bet Elijah would like to rub you the wrong way!” Jasper teased from the back of the group walking out of the mess hall.
“Dude, just shut up!” Elijah whined.
They all walked down to the staff cabins and pulled up seats around the fire that Desmond had set about starting. Looking around her, McKinzy was beginning to realize how little she knew about each and every one of these men. These were the men she needed to be able to trust with her six, her life. To be honest, she felt as though she could trust them about as far as she could throw them right now.
Turning to Jasper, she smiled, “Okay so I’m curious, how did you and Desmond end up down here in Idaho if you’re from The Great White North?”
Desmond plopped down in his chair on the other side of Jasper and cracked open a beer, “Do you want to tell her, or should I?”
McKinzy had to force herself from allowing her jaw to drop to the ground. From the little time she had spent with the crew last night, she had noticed that Desmond didn’t seem to have a whole lot to say about anything.
Jasper hung his head, “I’d rather not…”
“Oh boy, this sounds like a good story.” McKinzy relaxed back in her chair as Adrian handed her a beer.
Desmond shook his head, “So Jasper calls me up one morning on my week off from the crabbing boat and informs me that he went and did something stupid. He then launched into this big story about how he had gotten invited to a private poker game in Anchorage and had come home five grand poorer. He needed me to bail him out since he played on credit.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? No one else I knew had money stashed away like you,” Jasper tried to defend himself.
“Or you could have not gone to the damned poker game in the first place since you didn’t have two pennies to rub together. Anyways, I paid off his debts and went back to the rig a couple of days later with his promise that he wouldn’t gamble anymore,” he paused to give Jasper a hard look. “Well, when I came back a few weeks later, he was in over his head and hiding out in my trailer because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. The men he had been gambling with were some of the biggest Kodiak bear shifters in Alaska and were more or less our version of the mafia up there. Owing these guys money was not something that would or could be tolerated. But after pa
ying off Jasper’s debt the last time, I didn’t have any money stashed away anymore.”
“So what did you do?” McKinzy asked, leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees.
“We had to devise a plan. We felt like our only option was to run. We ended up running into Adrian up in the panhandle of Idaho right after we crossed the Canadian border, and he told us about this sweet job he had just taken. He made a couple of calls, and the rest is history.”
McKinzy was silent for a beat and then burst out laughing, “So what you’re telling me is that if I want to make a quick buck I should just play poker with Jasper, huh?” McKinzy laughed as she nudged Jasper playfully.
Desmond’s face got serious, “He won’t be gambling anymore after that. I threatened him.”
“With what?”
“He said he’d lock me in one of the inmate’s cabins and let them have me for a day. No. Thank. You. God only knows what they’d do to me!” Jasper shook his head violently.
“Not a bad idea. Remind me of that punishment the next time Elijah tries to hit on me. That could be fun to hold over his head too,” McKinzy teased.
“Hey now, I just call it like I see it, and you, boss lady, are fine as fuck,” Elijah nodded, lifting his beer in her direction with praise.
“Okay, so I know I’m probably overstepping my boundaries here, but I have to know. What are everyone’s animals?”
Elijah piped up excitedly, “Well, Adrian is a lion, Duke is a badass gorilla, and Jasper and Desmond are bears. And me? I’m the best damned shifter on this planet!”
“Oh? And what is that exactly? A mosquito?” She taunted.
“Um no. I’m a wolf shifter, baby!” He folded his arms and nodded with pride.
“So what you’re saying is pretty much everyone here could eat you for dinner!” McKinzy exclaimed as Duke and Jasper started rolling.
“I don’t know why you even bother talking anymore, Elijah. She’s gonna get your goat every chance she gets,” Adrian jibed.
McKinzy sighed. For the first time in a long time, she felt as though she could let her guard down. Something about this place just put her at ease. Sitting here around the fire, it was easy to forget all about Cole and what he potentially could be up to. Closing her eyes, it was easy to imagine what life was becoming, and man did it look beautiful.
Chapter Nine
Adrian was an idiot. Friends? Are you serious? How stupid can you be? For the past two hours, his lion had been snarling and ripping him apart from the inside out. We can’t just be friends with her, you moron! We want her. We need to bed her. We need to lie beside her and feel her pressed against us as she sleeps. Being her friend is not going to get us there. You need to fix this. Now!
He sat and watched as McKinzy interacted with the crew and made herself at home. Not even in six years with Abby had she ever hung out at the fire with the crew at the end of the day. She always claimed to be reading or watching television or some other lame excuse to not have to build relationships with his friends.
There she was again, damn it. Abby had been gone three years now and she still had control over every ounce of his happiness in a very bad way. He had been young and dumb. Someday he would learn his lesson...maybe.
“Hello! Earth to Adrian!” Elijah chucked a marshmallow at Adrian’s head like a child.
“Sorry, what?” He asked, looking around the fire in confusion.
“We’re all off to bed, brother. Are you gonna put out the fire? Or should I unleash my monster on it?” Elijah waggled his eyebrows, waving his hips back and forth like he was spraying a water hose at the fire.
Shaking his head, Adrian said, “You go ahead and do that, Elijah. Just make sure it’s all the way out this time alright?”
“Yeah yeah, boss man. Go to bed, you party animal,” Elijah joked over his shoulder as he turned to the fire and unzipped his pants.
“G’night.” Adrian said, turning towards his cabin.
Walking up the steps, he continued to contemplate about his stupidity when it came to women. Just think about all the fun you could be having with her. Let Abby go. Enough of this guilt. We need to live. His lion had never truly bonded to Abby, but his head had. As he turned the knob to his cabin, he could hear something rustling behind him. Turning to face the noise, he came face to face with McKinzy. She had changed out of her work gear into some more comfortable looking shorts and a gray tank top with the words 1010 Crew emblazoned on it. He made a mental note to ask her about the shirt later.
“Hi...I uh...I saw that you were still up. And I was wondering if you wanted to have a drink with me or something?”
“I think we could both use one after the day that we’ve had,” he said, opening the door the rest of the way.
“Do you have any whiskey?” She grinned, kicking her shoes off by the door and settling down onto his futon.
“Sure do, does Pendleton work for you?”
“On the rocks please.”
Damn, that’s hot. Drinking whiskey on ice!?
“Sure thing. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” Adrian gave her a warm smile.
“So where did you go this morning?”
“I just needed to clear my head. I felt bad for taking advantage of you,” he said as he dropped a handful of ice cube into a glass and poured the golden brown liquid over them.
McKinzy stifled a laugh, “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I needed to get my thoughts together…”
“No! You seriously think you can take advantage of me? I would’ve said something to you if it was an issue, Adrian. What I did have an issue with was you shutting down on me when I asked a simple question. I just haven’t heard that sound before from a man, so I was curious. I thought it was quite sexy, actually,” she looked up at him through hooded eyes and reached for the glass.
Their hands touched, but this time, neither of them pulled away. “You thought it was sexy?”
Pushing herself up to stand, she said, “Sure did. I like it when you tell me what you like. It makes me...hot.”
“Yeah?” He asked, reaching a hand around to rest on the small of her back.
“Yes, and feeling that way makes this whole thing a lot less confusing.” She shivered under his touch.
“I like touching you.” Adrian sat down and pulled McKinzy onto his lap.
As he rubbed his free hand up and down her side, she was practically purring. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers for the second time that day. She tugged at his lip before allowing her tongue to tangle with his. She set the drink on the coffee table then shifted in Adrian’s lap so she was straddling his waist, allowing their embrace to continue.
The fire caught, sliding both hands around her, he placed them just under her ass and pulled her closer. Trailing kisses from her lips to her neck, he let out a small hum in his throat.
McKinzy whispered, “Oh god, that sound makes me wet just hearing it.”
Slipping his fingers under the hem of her shirt, he pulled it over her head and took in the sight of her breasts pressed together perfectly by her sports bra, then removed his own shirt. She ground against him, feeling the pressure building before allowing her hands to slide over his abs towards his zipper. Sliding the zipper down, she felt the material relax as it was freed from the pressure building inside.
Watching his head break free from its confinement, she slipped hand inside his boxers and grabbed his full length. Feeling it throb in her hand, she began to slide her hand down from the head to the base, ever so slowly. He groaned against her collarbone, trailing kisses to her breasts. Pulling her bra above her head, he paused and slipped her hard bud into his mouth and teased it with his teeth, smiling to himself as she bowed against him. He finished tossing the forgotten garment to the floor before standing and holding her to him as he walked them to the bedroom.
“Where are we going? I was comfortable,” she pouted.
“Need to taste you,” he murmured, lowering her to the bed and pullin
g down her shorts and panties.
He stood back for a moment and admired her naked body before kissing down her abdomen to her pelvis.
“Oh you don’t have to…” She trailed off as he slipped his tongue between her folds and released a moan instead, “Fffffuuuu.”
“That’s right, tell me what you like, baby.”
“Need you inside of me.” She panted.
He smiled to himself, “Not until I’m finished tasting you. You taste so good.”
She raked her nails down his shoulders, and he plunged his tongue inside her again, swirling it around.
“Adrian! I’m going...ohhh!” McKinzy screamed as the pressure built to a sweet crescendo.
Adrian hurriedly slid his pants off and thrust his cock inside to feel the aftershocks of her orgasm, “Yes baby, yes. Cum for me and I’ll make you feel good again.”
Slowly sliding back and forth inside of her, he started working up a rhythm, going a little further and a little harder with each pump.
McKinzy curled her toes with pleasure, “Oh my fuck, this is amazing. You’re amazing. Don’t stop!”
He pounded harder and harder, meeting her with every beat. He could feel the pressure building between both of them as he reached up and held her hands firmly against the bed and kissed her. Their tongues danced as he gave one last push before they found release together. He didn’t pull out immediately, but instead held her to him as he rolled onto his side.
“That. Was. Amazing,” she huffed with pleasure, nuzzling into his chest.
He tightened his arms around her and kissed her head, “Yeah it was.”
He sighed as he closed his eyes. Mine, his lion purred with approval as he felt himself relax for the first time in years. So this is what it was like to make love. He felt that rumble in his chest again, but this time he didn’t hide it. This felt good and he wasn’t going to spoil it this time by running away.
