“Why can’t I sit in the front again?” Phyllis whined as he closed the door.

  “You lost your front seat privileges when you tried to give me a gum job,” he said through the open window.

  She pulled out her dentures and gave him a gummy grin. “The offer is still on the table.”

  Gunner closed his eyes and turned away as a cold shiver ripped through his body. “Just ten more minutes,” he whispered to himself. After he dropped the perverted old woman back home, she would be out of his life forever. Hopefully.

  He sat in the driver’s seat and was starting the engine when the passenger’s side door opened and Aleida slipped in. She was looking spectacular in the same tight clothes from last night. Gunner much preferred seeing her in his old favorite t-shirt, but she looked good in her tight jeans and black tank top too. He had gotten hard on the spot when he saw her walking down the stairs with her long bare legs, wearing only his Guns and Roses t-shirt. The thought of his shirt caressing her soft pale skin had made his heart race.

  “Where are we going?” Aleida asked, grinning at him. Her wild curly hair was tied back in a ponytail and the sight of her exposed neck was getting him going again.

  “I haven’t had a threesome in weeks,” Phyllis said from the backseat. “This is going to be great.”

  Gunner just rolled his eyes as he threw the truck into drive. They drove down the main street and Aleida began playing with the radio as Gunner pulled onto the road that led out of town.

  “I love this song,” she said as she turned the radio up and leaned back in the seat. I’m on Fire by Bruce Springsteen was playing softly through the speakers.

  Gunner glanced at her and smiled as he watched her luscious lips moving as she sang the words under her breath. The warm air was blowing in through the windows, making her beautiful red hair dance around her face as they drove down the mountainous road.

  It was perfect.

  “Are we going to fuck soon?” Phyllis whined from the back.

  Almost perfect.

  “Your girlfriend is getting antsy,” Aleida said in a low voice that only Gunner could hear.

  “She’s definitely not my girlfriend.”

  “Too old for you?” she asked, resting her cheek on the seat as she watched him. It was pure torture to keep his eyes on the road and not on her beautiful face.

  “A little bit,” he answered. “She’s practically ancient.”

  “What?” Phyllis shouted from the back. “I can’t hear you!”

  They just ignored her.

  “That’s too bad,” Aleida said, turning away to look out the windshield. “I’m much older than her. Too bad I’m not your type.”

  She was exactly his type. He couldn’t stop thinking about her since she stepped into his life.

  “But you don’t look it,” he said, taking a deep breath.

  “So, it’s all about looks to you?”

  “No,” he said quickly, trying to find the right words. Gunner was never very good at finding the right words. “You’re beautiful, but you’re also… you have the… uhm…”

  She was playing with him. The smirk on her face was giving it away.

  “Let’s just listen to the song,” she said, turning it up with a smile on her face, “and enjoy the scenery.”

  Gunner glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

  He was certainly enjoying the scenery.

  “Are you going to call me?” Phyllis asked when Gunner walked her to the door.

  “Probably not,” he said. He could feel Aleida’s eyes watching him from inside the truck. “Definitely not.”

  Phyllis sighed as she kicked the plastic rock on her porch that was covering her house key. “If you change your mind,” she said as she bent over and picked it up, “we can get freaky in the shower with my shower seat.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as he backed away from her. “Thanks for the date.”

  “Anytime, sugar dick,” she answered with a wink.

  Gunner turned and hurried to the truck. Aleida was laughing at him as he jumped in.

  “No goodbye kiss?” she asked with a smile.

  “Not this time.”

  “Saving yourself for the wedding?”

  He laughed. It felt good to laugh. Gunner seldom did and he seemed to be smiling and chuckling every time Aleida was by his side.

  “Are you done?” he asked her as he started the engine.

  “Am I going to get invited to the wedding?” she teased.

  He put the truck into drive and pulled out of the driveway. “You’re done.”

  She just laughed as he drove down the road, and he couldn’t help but join in. The darkness and heaviness that was entrenched in his bones were slowly lifting off him with every minute that he was with her.

  “Did you talk to Draven today?” he asked.

  She took a deep breath and held it as she looked out her side window. Gunner couldn’t help but glance down at her legs.

  “Is he always this stubborn?” she asked.

  Gunner nodded. “Yup.”

  A few minutes later they turned down the road that the Wilde Ranch was located on. Usually, Gunner’s chest tightened and he had a hard time breathing every time he turned onto this road, but this morning, with Aleida by his side, he hardly even noticed. He felt fine.

  In fact, it was the first time he noticed that he hadn’t thought of Joan once all day. Normally, the bear shifter he had been in love with passed through his mind every few minutes, but today… nothing.

  He drove by the ranch, feeling as light and carefree as ever. He didn’t even have the urge to slow down and catch a glimpse of Joan. “That’s new,” he muttered under his breath.

  “What’s new?” she asked.

  He just smiled to himself. “All kinds of things.”

  She looked at him funny but he didn’t explain. A familiar face was walking up the road and he grinned as he slowed to a stop beside Ashton, the scrappy grizzly bear shifter from the Wilde Crew.

  “Gunner,” he said, grinning as he reached past Aleida to give him a tattooed knuckle bump. “It’s been so long.”

  Ashton glanced down at the gorgeous girl sitting beside Gunner and his eyes widened when he caught her dragon scent. “Hello,” he said, stepping back as he watched her cautiously.

  “This is Draven’s sister, Aleida,” Gunner said in a tone that meant she wasn’t any danger, although from what Gunner had seen so far, she was plenty dangerous, and he plenty liked it.

  “This is my old friend Ashton,” Gunner said. “Or better known as The Boston Brawler.”

  Ashton grinned. He was one of the toughest bare-knuckle boxers that Gunner had ever seen and he loved to fight.

  “That reminds me,” Ashton said. “I’m hosting a fight tonight in the usual spot on the Clawed Ranch. Coming?”

  Ashton was the local Tyler Durden of Colwood, hosting shifter fight clubs every few weeks to help get some of the pent-up energy and aggression out of the apex predators.

  “He’ll be there,” Aleida answered, turning to him with a grin. “I want to see what he can do with his hands.”

  Gunner’s heart started pounding. He really wanted to show her what he could do with his hands, but it didn’t involve fighting.

  “Perfect,” Ashton said, slapping the door. “We’ll see you both there?”

  The grizzly bear shifter looked at Aleida as she nodded. “Definitely.”

  They said goodbye and Gunner pulled away, driving down the secluded road. He thought about what it would be like to walk into the crowded barn of shifters with this stunning girl on his arm. He could barely contain his grin.

  “You like watching fighting?” he asked as she played with the radio.

  She found a song that she liked, and leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “Not really,” she said with a smirk on her sexy lips. “But I love watching you get your ass kicked.”

  Chapter 6

  Aleida

  Aleida wasn’t getting anywhere with Dravenous, but she still didn’t want to leave. She was having a good time making Gunner, the dark sullen lion shifter, smile, and laugh.

  The world as they knew it was about to end, and she shouldn’t be wasting time like this. She should have been flying back to Europe to find a way to stop the inevitable, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

  Was it so bad that she wanted to enjoy the remaining little time she could before it all went to shit?

  She had been alive for centuries but she couldn’t remember the last time that a man got her heart pumping and made her breathless like Gunner did. Why couldn’t she enjoy herself for once? At least for a night…

  One night. And then I go back.

  Back to England. Back to the chaos. Back to her half-brothers who were craving the power and dominance on a level that only dragon shifters could. Aleida knew all too well the dark need to control and dominate that a male dragon could bring out in their human companion. She had seen it first hand over the years.

  The weakest of her kind gave into the intense desire to control and oppress like four of her five half-brothers had already done. The need to control was always worse among the males. Even Aleida herself felt it from time to time, but the tyrannic need for authority was overwhelming for most males.

  Dragons were the ultimate apex predator. The top of the top of the food chain, and they expected every creature below them to submit to their will.

  She was forced to watch from the sidelines as her brothers dominated the business sector over the years. They controlled most of the world’s major corporations and owned vast amounts of real estate, accumulating even more than the Catholic Church. And they did it all in secret.

  They were the four richest men in the world, and hardly anybody knew their names. They had control over the world’s economy, but even that wasn’t enough for them. It was the physical control they lacked. It was the mental domination they needed.

  Erasing technology and returning to the Middle Ages was the ultimate show of power. They could split the planet in four and rule unchecked like they were born to do.

  Aleida shuddered just thinking about it. She had seen first hand how cruel her brothers could be, and she didn’t want the world to learn the horrors that she knew so well.

  She had come to Montana for Dravenous. He was her hope. Uncorrupted by his dragon’s dark needs. He was the light. The true heir to the Dragon Throne.

  But so far, all he had been was a big disappointment.

  “So, you’re just going to let them win?” she asked when she finally found him sitting on the roof of the firehouse. It was late in the evening and the boys had cooked her a nice dinner. Her steak had been as black as the barbecue and was burnt until it resembled a hard rock. It was delicious.

  “You’re not even going to try to stop them?” Aleida was giving it one last try before she left in the morning. The boys were taking her to the fight tonight and they were waiting for her down below by the pickup truck.

  “I don’t know what you want from me,” Dravenous said as he stared at the setting sun. It was slowly fading behind the snow-capped mountains in the distance, lighting the sky on fire. “You’re asking me to go up against four mated dragons. You’re asking me to kill myself.”

  She sighed as she sat down beside him, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the building like his were. The guys were laughing below as they waited by the truck. “I’m asking you to help me find Caliburnus.”

  “Excalibur?” he said, shaking his head. “You read too many old books.”

  “Your mother—”

  “Was dying when she said that,” Dravenous snapped. “I’m not going to travel across the world and throw my life away for the feverish ramblings of a dying woman.”

  “So, what’s the alternative?” she asked. “Die here? Live under your brothers’ tyrannical rule?”

  She let that sink in while they both stared at the red slivers of sun cutting into the sky.

  “Look, Aleida,” he said with a sigh. “It’s good to see you again, really it is. But I’m not the savior you’re hoping for.”

  Aleida gritted her teeth as she watched her coward of a brother shrink down from his true destiny.

  “Clearly,” she said as her chest tightened in disappointment. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. And she was out of here. “Our father would be ashamed of you.”

  She pushed off the building and clenched her jaw as she plunged to the ground below.

  “Holy shit!” one of the guys shouted as the air rushed through her hair, sending it flying over her head. She landed on her feet without a sound, gracefully dipping down to absorb the shock of the landing.

  She stood up with a grin and walked over as the four shifters by the truck stared at her in shock.

  “Bravo,” Axel said as he gave her a slow clap.

  Gunner’s jaw was still hanging open as she strutted by him. She placed two fingers under his chin and closed his mouth as she grinned at him. “Not only pussycats can land on their feet.”

  “You’re full of surprises,” he said as she leaped into the cargo bed. Gunner tossed Zane the keys. “You’re driving.”

  “But you always insist on driving,” Zane said, looking confused.

  Gunner leapt into the cargo bed and sat beside Aleida. “Not tonight.”

  Zane climbed into the driver’s seat, and Jax got into the passenger’s side. Axel was about to join them in the cargo bed when Gunner held up his hand.

  “Bears in the back,” he said.

  “But…” Axel said, looking disappointed. “It’s such a beautiful night out.”

  Gunner let out a low growl. “It won’t be so nice if you’re looking at it through black eyes.”

  “All right, all right,” Axel said, shaking his head as he opened the door to the back seat. “Save it for the fights.”

  Aleida couldn’t hide her smile, even with Dravenous watching her from the roof. This may be the last night she could spend as a normal person going out with some fun friends.

  And she was going to enjoy it.

  The engine started and they drove down the street.

  “Bye, Gwen!” the boys called, waving to the curvy brunette who was waving back in front of the muffin shop.

  “Don’t let Zane get hurt!” she called out.

  Axel and Jax had a field day with that one, making fun of the poor Kodiak shifter.

  “Are they always like this?” Aleida asked Gunner as they pulled onto the main road.

  “Only when they’re awake,” he said with a chuckle.

  It felt so nice to be far from home, riding in the back of a truck on a beautiful summer evening next to a hot guy. They slowly drove down the main road with good music playing through the speakers and Aleida started nodding her head to the beat. The boys were waving to people they knew on the sidewalk and trading insults with the friendly men walking by. The truck went over a pothole in the road and Aleida bounced a little closer to Gunner. Their legs were touching and neither of them made an effort to pull away.

  “I like it here,” Aleida whispered, looking around at the busy restaurants with the full terraces.

  Gunner was watching her, looking gorgeous with his golden skin and honey-colored eyes locked on hers. His blonde hair was blowing in the breeze like hers was. She wondered if his heart was beating as fast as hers was too.

  “I like it here too,” he whispered, but he didn’t seem to be talking about the town.

  Their eyes closed as their mouths came together, neither of them able to hold off the attraction any longer. Aleida moaned as his lips touched hers in a soft kiss. His big arms wrapped possessively around her, and he pulled her close against his hard body. For a rough and gruff lion shifter, he was a very smooth kisser.

  She placed her palm on his chest as he slid his tongue over hers, and a warmth flooded through her when she felt his heart pounding in his chest, just like hers was.

  “Mmmmm,” she moaned, licking her lips when they finally pulled away. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Gunner looking back at her with all of the want and desire that she was feeling.

  Yup. I definitely like it here.

  She suddenly felt eyes on her and she looked past Gunner to the rear windshield of the pickup truck. Axel had his face pressed up against it, watching them with a wide grin on his face.

  “Go, Gunner!” he shouted, giving them a thumbs up.

  Without looking back, Gunner slammed the side of his fist into the windshield, making Axel jerk his head back in pain. “Ow!” he complained as he held his nose. “Jerk.”

  Axel finally turned around, giving them some privacy.

  She nibbled her bottom lip as she looked up at the big lion shifter who still had his arms wrapped around her. “Let’s do that again.”

  Gunner grinned as he leaned forward. “I was hoping you would say that,” he growled.

  And then he kissed her.

  Aleida was walking into the packed barn when Axel raised his hand and stopped her. “Aleida,” he said. “Before you go in there you have to know. The first rule of shifter fight club is—”

  “You don’t talk about shifter fight club?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head and looking at her with a confused look. “You take your shoes off.” He pointed to an area against the wall where everyone’s shoes were placed neatly on the floor. “It’s just basic politeness.”

  Aleida stepped into the packed barn and slipped her shoes off. “Wow,” she whispered as she looked around. The barn was filled with huge shirtless shifters, all cheering as they watched the fight in the middle of the room. It was between a mountain of a man who was kicking the crap out of another scrawny looking guy.

  “That’s Alexander Vega,” Gunner whispered to her, staying protectively close. “Undefeated polar bear shifter.”

  Aleida’s inner dragon started moving about as she watched him. He wouldn’t be undefeated for long if I didn’t want to mess my hair up.

  The huge polar bear shifter was in luck because Aleida wanted to look good for Gunner. She was just here to watch.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9