Her Dragon Protector, page 7
part #2 of Black Claw Dragons Series
That would be my luck.
We talked about me working at the hospital, Ava reassuring me she wanted me to stay here.
“We set that roasting pan to soak.” Axel walked in the room wiping his hands on his jeans, which only drew my attention to the snug material over his crotch. Damn it.
“I’m going to head out,” he said. “Charlotte, I hope you have sweet dreams.” His eyes had a fire behind them that made me do a double take. It must’ve been a trick of the light, because when I looked again, they were just brown and warm, inviting. No fire.
Strange.
I walked over to the door to say goodnight and lock up behind him. As he stepped onto the porch, he turned. “If you need a little personal ASMR, don’t hesitate to call me.”
My arousal spiked again, stronger this time. His voice was capable of making me horny, even if he was doing nothing more than reading the damn phone book.
This was the worst time possible for my body to be aroused by the sexy man. Damn it, get it together.
Axel’s expression changed. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn he knew exactly what he was doing to me. But he couldn’t. I’d made no outward signs that I was aroused. I hadn’t even shifted on my feet.
He backed up. “Mav has my number if you need anything. Or if you decide you’d like some company to run errands.”
That was a tempting offer. More cold-weather clothes were always a good thing. I would’ve loved to have gone shopping, but I’d drag Ava along for that. No sense in torturing Axel while I looked at leggings and sweaters.
When he walked down the porch steps, I shut and locked the door. “I’m going to bed,” I called. Ava was wrapped around Maverick on the couch and waved at me.
“Night,” Maverick said. His voice was muffled. I didn’t want to think about where his lips were. That would make me think about certain lips being in the same spot on my neck.
After I changed into my pajamas, I slid into bed, my body on fire. All I could think about was the way Ava was wrapped around Maverick on the couch. Except when I pictured it, it was me and Axel, and he whispered dirty things into my ears with that sultry voice of his. Damn.
I couldn’t stand it. I reached into my bedside table and took out a small box. A tiny silver bullet rested inside. I slipped the fresh batteries from a compartment at the bottom of the box, and switched them out.
Reaching between my legs under the covers, I pressed the button to make it vibrate, then pressed it two more times to take it to its max setting.
As soon as it touched my clit, I had to fight the urge to cry out.
The little machine took me close to an orgasm and fast. It always had, as powerful as it was. As liquid pooled, slicking my hand and the vibrator, I pictured Axel sliding his dick into me with his hands on my knees, stretching me just enough to catch his head on my G-spot.
Moaning as softly as I could, I used the fantasy and little helper to pull my orgasm out, then continued for one more, this time imagining Axel bringing me to an orgasm with his mouth.
I pinched my clit with my other hand, as if Axel had bitten down with just enough pressure, then pressed the bullet to it again, taking me over the edge for the second time.
Panting, I floated back down and turned off the vibrator, setting it on a tissue beside my bed to clean in the morning. I never put it away until I’d washed it.
Seen too much in the ER to allow that. Yuck.
It was way too soon for me to be this hung up on another man. Enough to fantasize about him while giving myself two orgasms.
Since I couldn’t get my body on board with the not-jonesing-over-Axel idea, I’d just have to stay far away from him.
What else could I do? I didn’t want to repeat my past mistakes again. And jumping straight into another relationship would be classic Charlotte.
It was time for a new Charlotte and a new way of life. No more toxic men. No more fast relationships.
And even though I didn’t think he was toxic, still, no more Axel.
7
Axel
I’d gone home and jacked off, but it wasn’t enough. Patrol had proved the biggest test of my will I’d ever had, but even sitting at the station was difficult today. I wanted to run flat-out to Ava’s house and sweep Charlotte into my arms.
Her scent lingered in my mind, trapping me in a wave of unending desire. I could’ve blown my load forty times and it still wouldn’t have been enough. Nothing would be enough but her. And even then, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go for long.
Getting through the day was torture. The town had been running smoothly, very few calls and the ones we had gotten hadn’t required anything of me. I had nothing to do but sit and stew about Charlotte.
The phone rang, so I grabbed it. “Black Claw PD,” I said in a bored voice.
“May I speak to Axel Kingston?” a strange voice replied.
“This is he.” I lost the bored tone and made myself sound more professional. “How can I help you?”
“This is Detective Stevenson from the Santa Fe Police Department. I have an update about your case.”
I’d sent all the paperwork over with my name as the point of contact. “Yes?”
“We picked up Logan McDonnall two days ago. He took a minute to track down. He made bail and was due for court this morning, but he never showed. He’s currently in contempt. We’re still trying to locate him.”
“Son of a bitch.” This was horrible news.
The deputy sighed. He knew what it meant to have a domestic violence case disappear as well as I did. “Yeah. I wanted to tell you as soon as we were sure so you could warn the vic. She needs to go underground, if she hasn’t already.”
That fucker wouldn’t get close to her if I had anything to do with it. “Thank you, Detective. I appreciate the heads-up.”
The sound of the Santa Fe detective hanging up reverberated in my ear as I called Dad back to the station, explaining the situation. He was on patrol duty at the moment. “I’ve got to go warn Charlotte right away.”
“Of course, go. I’ll be back at the station in five.” He knew how important Charlotte was to me. Without me telling him, he understood. Mates weren’t anything to mess around with, especially fated. Our dragons would revolt if we didn’t do it right.
We tried to make sure someone was always by the phones in case of emergency, even if that left nobody patrolling. It wasn’t like we were overtaxed by the huge crimewaves in the city, after all.
I turned on the patrol car’s lights and went straight to Ava’s. Maverick was off work, so they were likely home, and Charlotte didn’t like leaving at the moment.
Maverick’s cruiser and Ava’s SUV were both parked in front of the cabin. I pulled in fast, bouncing around on their rough driveway. Mav needed to have it regraveled.
He met me at the door. His dragon hearing would’ve meant he heard me coming, of course.
“Dad called,” he said. “She’s upstairs.”
He stepped back so I could walk in. “Ava’s in the kitchen.”
I went in there. “We have to tell her,” I said in way of greeting.
Ava nodded. “Yeah. Okay. You’re right.” She sighed. “Keeping it from her would only make it worse in the long run.”
She walked out of the kitchen. I watched her stop at the bottom of the stairs and call up. “Charlotte? Can you come down here?”
Charlotte’s footsteps in her bedroom told me she was coming. Mav and I tracked her progress into the hall upstairs, then down the stairs, both of us looking up.
Ava walked back into the kitchen with Charlotte on her heels. “What’s going on?”
She sensed the mood in the room because her brow furrowed. “What is it?” She cocked her head and fixed her gaze on me. “You’re in uniform.”
I was too worried to appreciate the fact that her eyes drank in every inch of my body in my uniform. I logged it away to appreciate another time.
“I’ve got bad news.” My voice came out low and angry. Mainly because I was so damn angry.
Her shoulders sank. “Logan?”
I nodded, and Ava took her hand. “Come sit down.”
Ava led her to the table to sit. I took the chair beside her and leaned in close. “They arrested him, but he made bail, then didn’t show up for court.”
Her shoulders sank more as she hunched in on herself. I would’ve given the world to take the weight off her shoulders that made her shrink like that. “How long?”
“Since?” I asked. The smell of her fear and anxiety permeated the air. Even that was a beautiful aroma, but it made my dragon tense. He hated seeing her like this. So did I.
“Since he made bail.”
I thought back to the specifics of what the detective had said. “I’m not sure, I think two days ago. The detective made it sound like Logan made bail pretty fast after being arrested.”
“More than enough time for him to get here,” she whispered. Her eyes darted around.
The woman was terrified.
Asher bristled inside me. He didn’t like seeing our mate scared. A dragon’s mate had no reason to fear anything in the world, for he would always keep her safe.
That’s how the dragons liked to think, anyway.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” I whispered. “I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.” I said the words from my heart, but of course she couldn’t have known that. I’d never meant anything more in my life. I’d rip Logan limb from limb before I let him lay a finger on her.
Charlotte gazed at me for a few seconds, our eyes locking on each other and the world passing between us. Then she blinked and sat up straight. “I have to leave.”
Jumping up, she hurried out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. “Wait,” I called, right on her heels.
She ignored me and headed upstairs, still slow on the steps. She looked a million times better than she had, with only a trace of a black eye left, but she still had to be in some pain.
Ava and Maverick followed close behind me, and we crowded in Charlotte’s bedroom door as she pulled out suitcases from the closet. Behind that were the boxes she’d brought her stuff in, broken down. “Do you have tape?” she asked. “Packing tape?”
Ava pushed past me. “Now hold on,” she said. “You can’t just pick up and go off by yourself to parts unknown.”
Charlotte sucked in a deep breath and pulled open a drawer, grabbing its contents—which looked very lacy and silky—and threw them in one of the suitcases. “I can and will. He knows I’d never go to my family, but even if I would’ve, they live in the same city. He could’ve checked quickly. He knows my only other friend lives in Black Claw, and he knows I visited here. We were dating then, remember?”
Ava nodded. “I know, and you’re probably right. But if you run now, you’ll be running forever.”
What other choice did she have? She felt backed into a corner.
Take her home.
Normally, Asher’s ideas were too extreme, but this time… “Stay with me,” I blurted, stepping into the room. Ava, Charlotte, and Maverick all looked at me incredulously. “I mean, me, my mom and dad, and Jury.”
Ava looked back and forth between me and Charlotte. Maverick closed his mouth and had a sudden interest in the paint around the light switch.
Charlotte still gaped at me. “At your house?”
“Yes. You do need protection, right? And who better to protect you than two cops?” I waved toward Ava and Maverick. “And if he shows up here, they can honestly say you’re not here, that you were here, heard he got out, and split. And he won’t find you here, or your stuff.”
“What if he’s already here, watching?” She wrung her hands, dry washing as she rocked from one foot to the other.
“We’ll get the boys and carry your stuff through the woods tonight. Nobody knows these woods like we do. He won’t see us.” I shrugged, desperate for her to think it was a good idea.
Ava nodded. “Yeah. And if he is out there watching, he’ll see you, which will be Carla in your clothes with one of your wigs on, get in my car. I’ll drop her at the bus station where James will be waiting to pick her up out the other door, looking nothing like the person I dropped off.”
Ava’s face lit up with excitement. “While he’s going after them, you’ll walk up to the house through the woods!”
Charlotte looked half convinced.
“It’s convoluted, but it’s not a bad plan,” Maverick said. “And it’s not like there isn’t tons of room at the manor. You could use my old bedroom if you’d like.”
I nodded. “Or one of the guest rooms, whatever.”
“Why would you offer up your home to a stranger?” she asked me point-blank.
Because you’re my mate.
“Because it’s the right thing to do. What is my job, if not to protect? Besides, you’re family now. Ava is family and you’re her family, are you not?”
She nodded, looking more and more convinced. “Okay. Maybe.”
Ava jumped in. “I think it’s the best possible solution on such short notice.”
Charlotte studied Ava’s face, then mine again. She sighed and threw more clothes in her suitcase. “Lend me a hand. Wherever I go, I have to take my stuff.”
She kept on packing, and Ava sent Maverick for tape.
“Put those books in this suitcase. It’s easier to carry them when they’re on wheels,” Charlotte said, ordering me around with ease.
She’s our mate. Who else would be so bossy?
Asher chuckled and the corners of my mouth tried to lift.
Maverick returned with tape, so we set up all her boxes. “How did all this stuff fit in your car?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m good at packing.” She stopped, staring into space. “What about my car? He’ll see it here.”
“If we’re operating under the assumption that he’s already watching the house, then Ava could tell him you left it here, maybe that she bought it from you to help you with money.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Oh, that’s a good idea.”
“We’re assuming he’ll speak to any of us or that he’s already in the vicinity,” Maverick said. “I think we’d know if someone was out there.”
Charlotte snorted. “These woods are massive. There’s no way to know for sure.”
“I’m sure we can get you to the manor without anyone seeing,” I said. “Trust me on that one.”
She paused in the act of trying to get the first suitcase to close. “Okay.” Her simple word warmed my heart. She’d agreed to trust me. That made me feel like a million bucks.
She took one of the boxes Mav had taped and began piling toiletries in it. I touched her shoulder. “Please let me keep you safe,” I whispered. I sensed Ava and Maverick leaving the room quietly.
Charlotte looked over my shoulder, noticing they were gone. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Let me help you. It’s okay to accept help once in a while, you know?”
She shook her head. “How could you know that’s something hard for me? Accepting help?”
I laughed and squeezed her arm where my hand still rested. “Because you’ve had such a hard time accepting any help.”
She let her head duck and laughed with me. “Okay. If you’re sure, I would greatly appreciate your help.”
Asher crowed inside me, delighted.
It won’t be long now! We can claim her.
But we won’t be worrying about claiming her until we’re both ready. For now, all I wanted was to keep her safe and whole. Protect her.
Cherish her.
8
Charlotte
What did I get myself into? Moving into the big house with the man that keeps distracting me and turning me on at a time I shouldn’t even entertain the thought of being attracted to another man.
Worst idea ever.
Except, Logan knew Ava was my only option. The thought that he might’ve been out there in the woods watching right then made my skin crawl.
I would’ve never said he’d be the type to do this. Two weeks ago? I would’ve laughed until my stomach hurt.
But now, with my bruises, the pain, the recovery. Living through what I did… I couldn’t put anything past Logan anymore.
“Great.” Axel grinned at me; way too pleased I’d said yes. He was looking forward to it. “We’ll have fun.”
Maybe I was reading too much into it. He was probably eager to help out, and we had become friends of a sort. The attraction was probably all on my side.
After all, how attracted could he have been to a woman covered in bruises? Couldn’t be much.
“I’m going to go talk to my mother and make sure we have a room that doesn’t need freshening. Some of them have been closed up for a while.”
I nodded, watching out of the corner of my eye as he almost reached out and touched my arm. He thought better of it and walked out of my sight.
Ava cleared her throat. I jumped, having totally forgotten that she and Maverick were in the corner of the room, supposedly taping boxes together. I hadn’t heard a peep from them.
Whirling around, I glared at my best friend and her husband, who looked back at me with a little guilt on their faces.
“What?” I narrowed my eyes and stalked toward them.
Ava shrugged. “Nothing. I’m pleased you’re going to be somewhere safe.” She pulled me into a hug. “I worry about you.”
When I pulled out of the hug and looked at them again, the guilt and odd grins had disappeared from their faces. Maybe I imagined it.
Ava turned to Maverick. “Mav, honey, go make sure nobody is nearby. Check the, uh, trail cams and stuff.”
“You have trail cams?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t know that.
“Oh, yeah. You never know what will turn up in the woods,” Maverick said. “It’s almost as good as having a wolf’s nose to find things.”
I chuckled at that picture, Maverick out in the woods sniffing around until he found Logan.
Maverick left Ava and me to finish packing. It didn’t take too long with both of us. I’d brought a car full of stuff, but still, we worked quickly.
