“Smart man,” Jules answered, too tired to back the words up with a smile.
“Where will you stay?” Brian asked, holding the door open for her.
“What better place to hide out than with a family of cops?” This time, she managed a smile. “That is if Sean wouldn’t mind a roommate.”
Brian chuckled and slipped his arm over her shoulders. “You know, I have a feeling he’ll insist upon it.”
“Rohan, it’s me, where is Juanita?” Sean asked into his cellular, stepping out of the police station. They’d been detained for hours and evening now set over the sky.
“Fuego,” Rohan answered. “Fillan is inside the club keeping an eye on things.”
“Her brother just died, and she’s at a bar? Now that’s love,” he noted sarcastically. Sean lifted his arm, hailing a cab. “Hold tight. I’ll be there soon.”
“What about Jules?”
“I sent her home with Brian. I want her safeguarded.” Sean knew he didn’t have to say more. Rohan would understand, as would the rest of the family. “This is the only way to guarantee her wellbeing.”
Sean would not fail to protect her. He didn’t care what happened to him as long as Jules was safe.
Chapter 25
Jules hugged her arms around her waist, staring out the window of the cab as it pulled up to Fuego. She couldn’t believe that Sean thought she’d just go to his home and wait for him to finish rescuing her from her life choices. He hadn’t even stopped to say goodbye.
After overhearing him with Brian at the station, she knew what she had to do. Ditching Brian hadn’t been hard. She’d simply asked him to go back inside the station to get the purse she’d “accidentally” left behind. Gentleman that he was he agreed and Jules hailed the first cab that came her way.
Fuego lived up to its name, “Fire”. She didn’t have to go inside to know the stylistic metal sculptures created the illusion of giant flames as red and orange lights flashed over them. The gently flickering colors could be seen beneath the bottom edge of the door. Loud music pumped throughout the club every night but Sunday. Jules didn’t mind the job most days. Sure, she hated her bosses and the crimes, but the waitressing itself wasn’t bad.
Walking past a group of women, Jules pulled a scarf from a purse. Without breaking stride, she wrapped it around her head to cover her hair. Pulling a bill out of her pocket to pay the cover charge, she had every intention of walking through the front door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sean growled, jerking her around, so she faced his chest. Jules gasped. “You’re supposed to be with Brian.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” She mimicked his tone.
“Protecting you.” Sean tugged her arm. “Come on. I’m putting you into a cab. Fillan will escort you home.”
Jules resisted. She opened her mouth to protest.
Suddenly, the pop-pop-pop of gunfire sounded from inside the club followed by multiple shouts. Screaming patrons ran through the front doors, shoving the bouncer out of the way as they tried to escape what was happening inside. Sean swung Jules up over his shoulder and rushed her away from the mob. She kicked her feet, half in protest, half in an effort not to fall. Sean flung her off his shoulder and pressed her against a brick wall as he covered her with his body. His back blocked her face and kept her from seeing what was happening.
“Sean, stop, let me…” She tried to wiggle free.
He spread his arms to the side, using his body as a shield.
“Sean…”
“By all the gods, Jules, let me— ” Sean’s phone rang, interrupting him.
The sound of running feet and screeching car tires took the mob away, and was replaced by authoritative police shouts and sirens. She stopped her struggle to listen. He didn’t move away from where he had her pressed to the wall. He grabbed his phone and flipped it open with one hand. “Yeah?”
Jules tried to listen to the other side of the conversation, but couldn’t hear over the ambulance sirens moving up the street.
“I understand.” Sean hung up. He gave one last look around the area before stepping away to let her free. “The FBI picked up Juanita behind the club.”
“Thank goodness.” Jules sighed.
Sean frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Why are you surprised that I came? You think I like the idea of you coming out here to do some sort of vigilante justice?”
“Is that what you thought? We’re here to arrest her. Well, Fillan is. I’m just here to make sure she doesn’t get away. I want to know firsthand that Juanita is off the streets.”
Relief filled Jules. “I thought you were going to kill her.”
Sean shook his head in denial. Before he could answer, Juanita appeared with an escort of five FBI agents. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. Two men held her upright as they forced her to walk down the uneven alleyway in her stiletto heels.
“Only if forced.” Sean’s gaze trained on the crime boss.
Cold, defiant eyes found Jules. Suddenly, Juanita smiled, a truly threatening look that caused Jules to take hold of Sean’s arm.
They watched as Juanita was shoved into the back of a police car. As the vehicle took the woman away, Sean led Jules toward the curb and lifted his arm to gesture at Fillan standing near the bouncer. “You shouldn’t have come here. I wanted you to be safe.”
“John,” Fillan yelled. “Take care of them!”
A uniformed officer glanced at Sean and Jules before giving Fillan a thumbs-up. John approached. “Hey, Sean. You two need a lift back?”
“Yes, thank you.” Sean threaded his arm over Jules’s shoulders and followed the officer. They climbed into the back of John’s squad car.
“What makes you think it will end with Juanita’s arrest?” Jules slid her body close to Sean, keeping her voice low as John drove them home. She rested her hand on his leg, liking the way his automatically covered hers.
“Hector’s dead. I didn’t plan it like that, but it happened,” Sean said.
“Juanita is the last of the Velázquez family,” John inserted from the front seat. “Unfortunately for her, she’s not very well liked. Half of what the authorities have on her is from her own men. I don’t think they exactly liked taking orders from a woman.”
“They couldn’t arrest her because they didn’t have outside collaboration,” Sean added. “You gave them that.”
“So it’s over,” she said in awe.
“Almost,” Sean corrected. “You still have to testify. I don’t think there is any way around it. They need you to give context to the recording.”
Jules saw John’s eyes on them through the rearview mirror and didn’t answer. She wasn’t in a trusting mood and had a feeling it would be some time before she looked at strangers with anything but suspicion. Sean placed his arm over her shoulders, joining her in silence for the long ride home. When they reached Southie, Sean thanked the officer and ushered her inside.
“Brian tells me you plan on staying here,” he said, shutting the door. His tone was light yet strained as if forced to be playful. He locked the door.
Jules smiled, even as some of her insecurities churned inside her. “You did say you love me or was that just the heat of the moment?”
Sean pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. “You know it wasn’t. Damn it, Jules. I told you I have loved you since the first moment I heard you scream. That is all it took. One sound and I left everything behind without question. Something inside me broke the day I learned you’d left Southie. I wanted to come after you so many times, but I was scared I didn’t deserve you. I had nothing to offer you when I first arrived.”
Jules wrapped her arms around his neck. “I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.” She didn’t have to specify she meant the first time. The look on his face said he knew what she was talking about. “I thought leaving would help clear my head, but ended up running from the only person who could have seen me through i
t. You gave up an entire world to help me. So I promise you, if there is even the smallest chance your people might be here, we will find them. You helped me with my Earth problems. I will help you with your, ah, where are you from?”
“Quirlixen,” he supplied.
“With your Quirlixen problem. If it takes the rest of our lives, we will find your people and your brother, and we’ll help them however we can. Even if that means starting and intergalactic dating service. I’m sorry I didn’t give us a chance, but I’m offering us one now—if you want it?”
Sean answered with a kiss, pressing his mouth fully to hers. Lips moved in subtle, sweet caresses and didn’t stop even when he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. His tongue slipped between her lips, persuading her mouth to open before pressing past the barrier of her teeth. He kept her close, but she didn’t protest the tight embrace. She felt his desperation, and it matched her own. Jules wondered if it would always be like this between them.
They didn’t bother to turn on the bedroom light, and the soft glow from the hall caressed him in shadows. Sean made love to her slowly, taking his time to explore her body. They undressed each other, peeling back layers of clothes as if it were the first time. Heat washed over her flesh, bringing with it a tingling. Need erupted low in her belly. She ached to have him inside her, to feel the intimate contact that only joining could bring.
He made a light sound of pleasure, the moan eliciting one from her. The dragon glowed from within his gaze. When he looked at her, the unguarded expression penetrated deep, revealing all he felt for her—love, worry, hope, desire. His stomach rubbed along hers and his hips nestled. He urged her legs apart. Anticipation filled her, pooling in her thighs.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered, cupping a breast. “Part of me can’t believe you’re here with me.”
Jules trembled, and her breathing hitched. The smell of his light cologne surrounded her. Warm lips enclosed a nipple, boldly nibbling the sensitive peak. He reached between her thighs, parting her slick folds. She squirmed for more, and he didn’t disappoint. The firm heat of his erection replaced his fingers.
Sean rocked his hips, their bodies joining. His hand stimulated her, intimately rubbing along her sex. Jules hooked a leg over his shoulder, letting the other one fall to the side. The position put pressure on all the right spots, and it didn’t take long for the pleasure to build. He pushed up, bracing his arms as he increased his speed. Climax hit her hard, and she gasped her release. Her nails clawed his flesh, and she closed her eyes tight. Sean came with a jerk, groaning loud and long.
He fell to her side, instantly pulling her next to him. Her breath came in heavy pants. Heat radiated off them, but she didn’t want to pull away even as sweat beaded along their flesh.
A small smile stretched across her face. She felt safe. Sean made her feel that way. She closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than this moment, resting in her lover’s arms.
Chapter 26
Almost one year later…
“After a trial lasting nearly seven months, East Boston’s lady of crime, Juanita Velázquez, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole thanks in part to the testimony of a local waitress and a Velázquez family bodyguard, Jose Guzman. Juanita is the sole survivor of the Velázquez crime family. Her brother Hector died the same day of her arrest, killed in an unrelated downtown shooting. It is expected that Ms. Velázquez’s lawyers will file an appeal on her behalf. Prosecuting Attorney, Fredrick Myers, says his office is not concerned.”
Jules lifted the remote, turning off the television as Myers’s face appeared on the screen. She’d heard the man talk enough in the last several months that she didn’t need to hear his sound bite on the news.
“It’s over,” she said for what had to be the thousandth time that day. Turning to Sean, she grinned. “It’s finally over. I can’t believe it.”
“I was a little worried you’d be disappointed,” he said. “All the excitement of a trial is dying down. The news cameras will go away to the next big thing.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” She chuckled, running her fingers over his cheek. A small growth of beard scratched her hand. “Honestly, they are cramping my style.”
“Would you like me to get your woman’s time medicine for the cramps?” He arched a brow. “I do not sense that it is time.”
“One, stop sensing my periods,” Jules answered. “Two, it is a saying. It means they’re a giant pains in the ass because they keep me from living life as I want.”
“Ah, ass pain. I remember that saying. Ass pain and style cramping are the same thing. I understand.” Sean nodded. “Now that it is over, I worry you will become bored with me and long for that next adventure.”
“I’ll have my adventure,” Jules said. “I get to make out with a dragon man. How many women get to say that and mean it?”
“If you say that, they will think you’re crazy.”
She shrugged. “Let them. So, did you think about what I found? Now that the trial is over, we can go to Louisiana like we talked about. That plantation hotel website boasts they have lizard man sightings in the bayou.”
“I suppose it is worth looking into.” He ran his finger down the tip of her nose.
“I know you’re worried about leaving Southie in case your people come back here, but we won’t be gone long. It has to be worth trying, doesn’t it? If there is a chance this lizard man is a dragon-shifter, I know you can find him.” She pressed her mouth gently to his. “And if it is a hoax, then we take a long deserved vacation to the swamps. No harm in looking.”
“You’re right. We’ll go. But, I think you mainly want to travel to another planet to see what kind of trouble you can cause,” he said. “I’m right, aren’t I? You wish for another adventure to start.”
“I can always join you in the bounty hunter business.”
“You want to be a hunter?” Sean asked in surprise. He stroked his fingers through her hair. The blonde was completely gone, replaced by a darker shade. She’d colored it the second the trial was over.
“Hell, yes!” Jules grinned. “I want to be a bounty hunter. Jules Dalton, Bounty Hunter, has a nice ring to it. Brian already said he’d take me to get a gun, and Myrna said they have karate classes at the rec center.”
Sean didn’t move. For a second, she thought he might have stopped breathing.
“Unless…”
“Unless?” He jumped on the word almost desperately. His protective instincts hadn’t let up. Sometimes she found them annoying. But mostly, she found it endearing.
“Unless you can offer me a better adventure, dragon man.” Jules was only teasing him, but she couldn’t help it. She felt giddy. The trial was over. Juanita was behind bars. Things were going well with Sean. He never asked her to marry him, but according to his people’s tradition, they were mated and, according to Sean, that went much deeper than human vows. So much had changed in the last year. They were different. Better. Stronger.
“As a matter of fact, I can.” He grinned as his eyes flashed with the threat of a shift. He leaped off the bed to go to the closet.
Hearing him rummage around, she asked, “You didn’t buy some sort of toy, did you? Am I going to regret teaching you what the adult industry is?”
“Why?” came the garbled response. “Do we need more toys? Tired of me already?”
“You wish. Sorry, babes, you’re stuck with me.” Jules sat up, craning her neck to see what he was doing. The door blocked her view. When he came out empty-handed, she arched a brow. “Is it skydiving gear? Are you finally going to go with me?”
“No,” came the expected response.
“But, I thought dragons liked to fly?” she pouted.
“I’m not that kind of dragon.”
“Are you my surprise? I think I’m going to like this. You bought the cowboy outfit, didn’t you?”
“Close your eyes and stop talking.”
Jules giggled but followed his direction. Ly
ing back on the bed, she waited for that first touch. Sean stroked her arm with a single finger. Her heart caught in her chest even as anticipation built.
Tracing her hand, he whispered, “This is the best adventure I have to offer you, Jules.” Surprised by the catch in his voice, she opened her eyes to look at him. He gave her an endearing smile and shrugged. “What do you say?”
Jules followed his gaze down to her hand. She hadn’t felt him slip a ring onto her finger, but now a vintage style filigree white gold ring with a square shaped sapphire winked back at her in the lamplight.
“We have been mated according to the ways of my people. You are in every sense my wife by dragon-shifter tradition, but will you human mate to me?”
Seeing the symbol on her finger, she knew no moment had ever been so perfect. Slowly, she nodded, “Yes, Sean, this is the only adventure I’ll ever need—being with you. Forever.” Then, smiling, she added, “But if you think I’m giving up chasing bad guys to be a housewife you’re sorely mistaken. When we get back from Louisiana, it’s on. A few classes and I’ll be ready to go full on ninja. In fact, I hear the North End has been having trouble with this punk named Joey Four Fingers—”
Sean stopped her words, pressing his mouth to hers in a deep kiss. When he pulled back, he said, “I think I like the bounty hunting idea better. Would you settle for being a partner, my sweet vigilante?”
Jules grabbed him and flipped him onto the bed, sliding her body on top of his to pin him down. She pulled at her shirt, tossing it aside to distract him with her breasts. It worked. His eyes instantly went to her chest. The heat from his body flowed over her thighs as she held down his arms. “Half the business will make a pretty kick-ass wedding present, but Joey’s butt in a jail cell would be even better. I thought I could get a job undercover at his father’s chop shop.”
Sean growled, swinging his leg to dislodge her so he could roll on top. His hips flexed suggestively against her. “No wife of mine is chopping cars. You’ll just have to settle for legally apprehending bail jumpers as a bounty hunter. How would that be?”
Hunted by the Dragon (Captured by a Dragon-Shifter Book 4) Page 12
