Burn: Dragon Shifter Romance

by Ava Frost

  “Delilah, come, lets head on to my trailer. Alfred call the police,”

  “No!” Delilah almost shouted as she grabbed Brian’s arm, “Don’t call the police, I don’t want this to get to the news.”

  “Sweetheart,” he said and went down on his haunches before her, “whoever did this must be stopped, and if it was a joke, it was in bad taste. Who would want to do such a thing?”

  Delilah looked down at her hands, “I don’t know but there’s something I need to show you,” she said quietly, “in the trailer.”

  Brian frowned and then tilted his head, “Show me.”

  She led Brian into her trailer and reached for a shoebox at the top of one of the shelves, “I’ve been getting strange letters. I thought it was just someone trying to prank me, so I didn’t really worry too much…”

  “What the hell, why didn’t you tell me about this when you got the first letter?”

  “I-I don’t know,” she admitted and sat down, “I didn’t want to alarm anyone if it was just some prankster trying to be funny.”

  Brian dragged his hands through his hair as he read note after note, “These are death threats Delilah, it’s not just some prank. Who would be this jealous of you?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  Delilah sat staring at the floor, from being an extra in some great movies, to being the star; she never once expected things to turn out so stressful. Her rise to fame literally happened overnight. After landing a few roles as an extra in her first films, she moved into a roll as a supporting actress, where she was first spotted as a new face with potential. And before she knew it, she was approached to take on this Lara Craft-like role of a vampire slayer. It’s been the biggest role yet, and already her handful of fans was excited to see her smashing her debut into the top charts. But she never expected fame to come with threats and dead cats.

  “Look, this looks like some random cult trick, someone who clearly doesn’t like Vampire movies, or it’s personal, but either way, you are going to need a bodyguard.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked raising her brows, “I don’t need a body guard in my business and following me to the fucking toilet.”

  Brian stood with his hands on his hips, “Right now you don’t get to make that call, I do. I’m here to make sure you are successful but also to make sure you are safe.”

  “Fine, whatever, I just don’t want some arrogant dumbass hovering around and sucking up the very air I breathe.”

  Brian nodded and then started throwing some of her stuff into a bag, “For now you’re going to stay in my trailer.”

  “I will not! Imagine how the tabloids will rave with that morsel of news!”

  “We’re switching trailers, I’ll stay here.”

  “I think you’re going a bit over board don’t you think Brian?” she said blankly.

  “I think a dead cat in a fridge is over board, so no, this is normal.”

  Delilah gave up, if there was one man who was dead set on an idea it was Brian, you stood better chance to convince the Pope to step down than to get Brian to back off. In some roundabout way she appreciated it, and simply accepted her fate. She was about to have her own personal babysitter.

  Chapter 2

  Grant sat in front of his laptop and scrolled down, looking at the images of his latest client. Delilah Jones. She was a black haired beauty that looked like the epitome of Cleopatra herself. She had these large eyes that appeared animated, almost photoshopped, sapphire blue, which he was almost sure were contact lenses. Her lips were full and he had the slightest suspicion that fame and Botox lent her this appearance of a classy seductress that could make most men fall at her feet and sacrifice their souls without blinking an eye. His first impression of her was a spoiled actress who got a few nerve wrecking letters and now deemed it necessary to have a bodyguard, but who was he to judge? He was getting paid enough to spend his days trailing after the girl. Besides, he had nothing else to do with his time anyway.

  Ever since he left the Special Forces he had been living a secluded lifestyle, more like a hermit. He had no interest in friends, and lived from one VIP job to the next. His last case was an actor, and that turned out well enough for him to spend the next five years not having to work. But his friend Brian literally begged him to step in and help out, and when Brian mentioned the dead cat, Grant couldn’t deny that the prank was slightly over the top. The animal wasn’t a road kill victim that ended up in a bag; someone had literally cut off its front paws and mutilated the poor thing before stuffing it in the bag and shoving it into Delilah’s fridge. The fact that the suspected stalker was so close, was also a raising concern. His first suspicion was that it must have been someone from the cast, someone with access to her trailer, but he was no private investigator, all he needed to do was keep her safe and let the authorities hunt down the culprit. But according to Brian she did not want the police involved, which he found a little irresponsible.

  A knock on the trailer door, which was located next to Delilah’s, drew his attention and he closed his laptop.

  “Come in,” he shouted and rode back on his chair.

  “Grant, sorry man, I haven’t had a chance to come around yet. Thank you so much for helping me out,” Brian said as he entered the trailer.

  “No problem,” he said and stood up to shake his friend’s hand, “So you haven’t reported this to the authorities at all?”

  “She’s a tough one, she refuses to notify the police,” Brian said and sat down, “She’s worried about tabloids getting a sniff of this, which I understand. That’s why I figured you’re the best man for this job.”

  Grant laughed and shook his head, “I can prevent her from getting hurt, but I can’t stay around forever. The culprit has to be stopped sooner or later.”

  “I’m working on that,” Brian said and handed Grant a list of names, “These are the suspects I have in mind, but it’s just a list. So first priority will be to keep an eye on these guys mostly.”

  Grant took the list from Brian and scanned it. None of the names rang a bell, but one in particular stood out, the only woman on the list, “Who is Eleanor Fleur?”

  “She was the first choice for the roll of Emily Lennox, the Vampire Slayer, but John Harrison, the director refused to direct the film with her as the lead actress. The threats started shortly after we started shooting the film.”

  “So she has motive then,” Grant said, more to himself while he scanned over the other names, “We’ll have to go through this list later so that you can bring me up to speed, but I think it’s time I meet my client.”

  “Of course,” Brian said and got up again. “She’s on the set at the moment, but you can come around and watch, then I’ll introduce you to her at break time.”

  The two men exited the trailer and walked across the grounds to one of the sets, all the while Grant kept a watchful eye on every single individual around. His ability to detect sensory reception and nervousness from a distance was the one thing he depended on, and it had never let him down. So far there was no indication that anyone in the immediate vicinity was suspect at all.

  As they entered the set, Grant stopped near the first camera man, and scanned the set. He noticed Delilah immediately, but the photos he had of her did not do her any justice. Now in living form right in front of him, there was much more to this creature than he would have expected. Her skin was near perfect, apart from the makeup, he knew she was a natural beauty, but there was something about her that captivated him. He shifted his weight and moved along the edge of the set until he stood in her line of view.

  “You have no place here Lucian, this is sacred ground and one more step in my direction I swear to the gods above and below, that I will drive this stake through your heart!”

  The line was delivered with focus and controlled ease, but she got the message across. The vampire stepped closer, his foot an inch away from the circle drawn around her.

  “I warn you Lucian, I do not wish
to kill you today, but I will if I must.”

  “Emily, my darling, you would not kill me if your life depended on it, we are one and the same, the very life force that courses through my veins is what keeps you alive,” the vampire Lucian said in his deep menacing tone.

  “We are not the same, and we will never be!”

  The cables that were tied to the harness around her waist tightened and suspended her into the air lending to the illusion of her attack and as she flew towards her assailant, he too rose into the air and crashed into her, pinning her to the ground.

  “You are mine now!” he growled and lunged forward burying his face in her neck.

  “Cut!” shouted the Director from his chair, “That was perfectly executed.”

  Grant stood firm, his immediate instincts when the vampire pinned the vampire slayer to the ground was to jump in and rescue her, but he knew better than to act on such impulses. But for some reason, the fact that she was in harm’s way, even if it was on a movie set, had him rattled.

  He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, as Brian made his way over to Delilah. They exchanged a few words and then she glanced in his direction. Flashes of blue lightning lighted up her eyes and he could immediately sense her disapproval, but Brian would clearly have none of it, and as he wrapped his hand around her wrist and practically dragged her towards him, he knew that they were not starting off on a good foot.

  “Miss Jones,” Grant said with a slight nod.

  “Look, I think Brian was a little impulsive in hiring you, I really don’t think I need…”

  “I believe there was a dead mutilated cat in your fridge?” he interrupted her.

  “Yes, but I’m sure it was just a prank, it happens all the time,” she objected.

  “Pranks or dead cats?” Brian piped up, “Look Delilah, Grant is just here to keep an eye on things and make sure you’re safe, he won’t impose on your privacy at all. Is that right Grant?” Brian said and turned his attention to him.

  Grant held his hands up and smirked, the tension that radiated from her was not repulsion, but rather gravitation, he could feel her soul drawing towards him and that was a very dangerous game, “I can guarantee you that I’m not going to be watching over you while you sleep, or be interrupting your everyday life, I will keep my distance at all cost, unless I detect danger.”

  She crossed one arm over her stomach and rested her elbow on her hand as she tapped one manicured tip on her red lips as if she was considering her options.

  “Seriously Delilah, you can’t carry on like this, sooner or later this is going to get more out of hand, and we should rather be safe than sorry. I’ve agreed to leave the authorities out of this for now, but please just amuse me and let Grant watch over you,” Brian insisted.

  “Fine, whatever,” she said and rolled her eyes, then turned her attention on Grant, “I’ll tell you when I need you, and if I don’t you steer clear, is that understood?”

  Grant cocked his brow, but nodded in agreement, “As you wish.”

  “Great, that’s settled,” Brian said and then strode off towards the director.

  “You can go now,” Delilah ordered and waved her hand dismissively towards the door.

  “I’ll be at the back, just holler when you need a hand.”

  She tilted her chin defiantly and then flipped her hair over her shoulder, pivoted on her heels and marched back to the set.

  Grant couldn’t help but smile, she was clearly intimidated by his presence and whatever it was, and she didn’t know how to handle him, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to be a tough cookie to crumble, and he was not so sure if he would be able to honor his word to steer clear.

  Chapter 3

  Delilah woke up with a start, as the moonlight broke through the narrow openings in the blinds of her trailer and although her air-conditioned was running on full blast, she was hot and bothered. Plagued with the most vivid dreams of the new comer Grant Wolverstein, she had gotten very little or no sleep. Everything in her dreams felt so real, she could almost smell him on her. What was even stranger than fiction, it was no ordinary dream. A dream is a series of thoughts and images, they never really make sense, especially jumping from one space in time to the next, and the feeling of deja vu in a strange room confuses everything. But these dreams were detailed, explicitly detailed actually, and they followed in sequence like a hot steamy sex movie.

  She flopped back and draped her forearm over her eyes. How was it even possible to meet a guy once and already have hot steamy dreams about him? Sure, he was a real peace of work, and clearly his special ops training was still paying off since he was built like a machine, but she was not the type of woman to allow a man to hijack her mind like that.

  Soon enough sleep crept up on her and her lids fluttered closed again; her last thought was that she would finally be able to sleep. But it wasn’t long before Grant entered her trailer again.

  “You didn’t think you could sneak away from me that easily did you?” he said in that timber voice that made her knees tremble whether she was standing or not.

  “I didn’t sneak away,” she said quietly as she scooted up in her bed.

  The sudden realization that she was naked sent a shiver of anticipation through her as Grant peeled off the white T he was wearing. His pecks flexed involuntarily as he lowered his arms to his belt buckle, flicking it open and tugging it out of its loops.

  “You do know that this is only the start,” he whispered as he dropped his pants to the floor. Somehow she expected him to be commando, but she still gasped for a breath when he stood in front of her with all his glory.

  “S-start to what?” she asked as her eye raked up along his muscled thighs, his very evident arousal that was big enough to be a towel rail and over his chiselled abs and sculpted chest.

  “The start to a lot of sex and a lot of fun,” he said as he lowered himself unto the bed, and wedged his knee between her legs.

  She hated arrogance more than she hated cockroaches and flying insects, but here in her dream, his arrogance had the complete opposite effect. Her smoothly trimmed sex was so wet she could almost feel the liquid trickle between her folds. And although her common sense told her to fight temptation, her body was reacting on its own accord.

  Grant leaned over her and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder, scraping his teeth along her heated skin and down until he sucked a taut nipple into his mouth, and while he teased her sensitive flesh, his fingers trailed up the inside of her thigh, seeking out her wetness.

  She knew that the only way to stop this madness was to wake up, but she couldn’t, or she wouldn’t. The way he touched her and the way he made her feel was something she had never experienced before. On the contrary belief that all actresses may have slept their way to the top, she wasn’t one of them. She was shy when it came to sex, but here in her dreams away from prying eyes, she could do and be whatever she wanted.

  “You’re so wet Delilah,” Grant said as he dragged his middle finger between her folds, flicking gently on her clit.

  “Oh god,” she gasped as she raised her hips against his touch.

  “I like to hear what you think, see what you feel,” he whispered as he met her eyes, sliding his finger into her.

  “I-I, why are you doing this?” she asked letting out a soft moan.

  “Because I like what I see,” he said and dipped his head down to capture her other breast.

  “And what is it you see?” she dared.

  “A beautiful, sexual creature, who has never allowed a man to touch her this way,” he said as he added a second finger, slowly pumping his thick digits in and out of her.

  “I’m really not that special,” she said between bated breaths.

  “Oh but you are.”

  Grant kissed down over her stomach, trailing his tongue along her skin until he was wedged between her legs, resting on his elbows. Delilah closed her eyes and dropped her head back as Grant lowered his mouth to her
sex.

  “Delilah!” she heard him call her name, but she was too far gone to respond.

  “Delilah!” he called again, still she refused to respond. She turned her head and focussed on the dresser. Her mother’s necklace hung over the mirror and with the shaking of the bed, it kept banging against the wooden frame.

  “Delilah, wake up! For god sakes, everyone is waiting for you!”

  Delilah shot up and looked around her, then down at herself. She was still fully clothed, and Grant was nowhere to be seen.

  “Brian, what time is it?” she asked Brian as he tossed her robe to her.

  “Past nine in the morning, I was getting worried. It’s not like you to sleep so late,” he scolded and headed back to the door.

  “Sorry, I don’t know what happened; I guess I was just too exhausted to wake up,” she mumbled, or I was too busy being ravaged by a complete stranger in my dreams, she thought before dragging herself out of bed.

  An hour later, she finally made it out of her trailer and on to the set. She opted for a scarf over her head, tied under her chin and sunglasses along with a sheer blouse and white slacks. She was simply going to tell John that she wasn’t well enough to be on set, and that they would have to postpone filming for a day. The only thing that would save her now is a day at a Spa where she could pull herself together.

  “You’re kidding me right?” John said, clearly annoyed by the fact that Delilah is not going to be on set today.