ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (56 page)

J
ulie locked
the door and flopped back onto the bed after Axel left, her mind a whirl of confusion. She still felt such a strong attraction to him and she wasn’t sure why he’d rescued her. Did he feel responsible for her? Guilty? She grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it. She wanted to scream with frustration but she couldn’t draw attention to herself. It would be just her luck that someone would call the cops and she’d be on the evening news, all because she couldn’t control herself.

Why did Martin follow her? It’s not like he wanted her anymore. He said she was too scrawny to ever make him much money. All she did was get scrawnier, eating as little as she could so maybe he would cut his losses and let her go. He’d beat her bloody when he discovered she’d been stealing from him, stashing the money under her mattress. But that had only made her more determined. She’d stolen a cell phone from one of the other girl’s clients and called her mom. She’d thought she was free, but no. They would hunt her forever.

Here she was with Axel. She had to be careful or she’d lose her heart again. That would be a mistake.

After a while, she tossed the pillow aside and got up to leave a voice message for her parents. She wanted them to know she was okay. She flipped through the channels on the TV for a while, but the motel didn’t have cable and there was nothing on but talking heads. She was more than a little antsy when Axel knocked on the door.

She peaked through the curtains to be sure it was him before she opened the door.

“Wow,” she said. “You look great.” And he did. He’d changed into a dark suit that looked like it was tailor made just for him. She felt a little foolish when she realized it probably was made just for him. Axel had to be making some pretty solid funds working for Eduardo.

He stepped in and closed the door behind him, making sure it was locked. He dropped the bag he was carrying on the floor near the desk and sat in the chair facing her. He looked defeated and she wondered what he had been doing. It occurred to her that she owed him for rescuing her and for finding her a safe place to stay. She stood slowly and took his hands, pulling him up out of the chair. She slid his jacket off over his shoulders and hung it in the closet. Then she knelt and slid off his shoes, his hand on her shoulder for balance. When she went for his belt buckle he jerked back and she whispered “relax. It’s okay.” She unbuckled his pants and slid them over his ankles. She let him sit down again and slid the pants over his feet. She folded and hung the pants in the closet next to the suit jacket.

He was wearing boxer shorts covered with green turtles and she had to try hard not to laugh she focused on his dress shirt, untying the black silk tie. She had to breathe deep to keep a straight face, men were so sensitive about their boxers and she didn’t want to ruin the mood. Not that there really was a mood; he was staring at her like she had grown a second head. She hung his shirt and tie and when she came back to him he had removed his socks and placed them neatly with his shoes.

She clicked on the TV and then off again when she remembered there was no cable. She went over to the little radio on the bedside table, twirling the dial until she found some easy listening music. Her time in the city had taught her that the wrong music could totally spoil the mood for a man. Something innocuous, like easy listening, wouldn’t add to the excitement but it wouldn’t kill the mood either. She chose a song with a decent beat and began to sway to the music. She danced her way to where he was sitting, leaning down to brush her lips across his ear.

She leaned over and unhooked her bra without removing her dress so he could watch her breasts sway and get a peek down the neckline when she bent forward. She’d learned that a little goes a long way and it was easier to get a man worked up if you made him wait. Teased him. Denied him what he wanted. She put her arms in the air and swayed; noticing that she was making an impact. Axel was breathing hard, his eyes dark and dangerous and the turtle print boxers were bulging.

Julie slid her panties down and kicked them off without letting him see what was underneath, except for what he could see down the neck of her dress. Now she was naked under the light fabric she could feel her own arousal building. She was oh so hot for him. She shimmied up to him and climbed onto his lap, one knee on either side of his hips. She groaned as his hands slid under her dress and cupped her ass, rubbing her wet slit against the tip of his penis through the fabric of his boxers.

Axel groaned and she twitched her hips teasing him. When she felt his muscles tighten as if to vacate the chair, she slid his penis free of the fabric. She slid him inside her, rocking hard. Axel grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head, leaving her breasts to bounce inches from his face. Her nipples were taut and hard and she rubbed them from side to side against his lips until he opened his mouth and sucked it in. He licked and flicked the nub with his tongue. She arched her back, rubbing her clit into his pelvis in time with his sucking.

He caught her other breast in his hand and thumbed that nipple as he sucked the other. The pressure was building low in her belly. She writhed. “Harder,” she groaned. “Punish me. Fuck me.”

He surged to his feet, taking her with him and she wrapped her legs around him. They crashed to the bed where he pulsed into her, hard and deep, sinking the full glorious length of him into her, until her body convulsed and she cried out. Driving hard, he thrust until he came and collapsed on top of her.

They lay, coupled together until a shadow passed the curtained window and they both tensed. Axel pulled out of her with a quiet “sorry Jules,” and grabbed a pair of sweats from his duffle. He pulled them on over the now damp boxers and went to stand next to the window. Without moving the curtain he put his eye to the crack between the drape and the window frame. Then he beckoned her over. She came to stand beside him, still naked and put her own eye to the gap.

What she saw made her jump back, her hand to her mouth. She looked at Axel, her eyes wide and mouthed “It’s him.” Axel nodded and motioned for her to go into the bathroom, but before she could move there was a pounding at the door.

“I know you’re in there Julie, open the door,” Martin Richter said.

Julie squeaked and clung to Axel. He motioned to the bathroom again but she shook her head vigorously and dug her fingers into his arms.

Martin pounded again.

“You got five seconds to open this door you little bitch,” he said. “One, two, three…”And then he opened fire. The bullets sprayed through the door and shattered the window, then back toward the door again. In the ringing silence that followed, there was only the sound of boots running away and everything was quiet again. Axel slumped against her and she realized he was bleeding.

Of course he’s bleeding, you idiot, she thought. He was standing between you and the gunfire. She half dragged him over to the bad and laid them there to examine his wounds. He was alert but quiet. Julie thought he was clenching his jaw against the screams of pain that he wouldn’t let go. Axel had three bullet wounds, a through and through in one thigh, another in his side and an entry wound only near his shoulder. They were all leaking blood. She reached for the bedside phone but Axel grabbed her hand.

“No,” he said. “I’m wanted by the police. You can’t get help.”

“You’d rather be dead than in jail?” She was spitting mad. “There’s blood everywhere and you’ve got a bullet in your shoulder.”

“Doesn’t matter, no help.” Axel put his good hand to his side and grimaced. “Hurts like a bitch.”

Julie was standing there naked, hands on hips, staring at him, when the manager stuck his head through the curtains at the broken window. He looked at her and smiled, “you better get some clothes on, sweetheart. We gotta move you out of here.”

The manager came in through the ruined door with a first aid kit and slapped some gauze and tape on Axel while Julie grabbed her sweats and a T-shirt out of her backpack and put them on. Axel said he could walk, but his wounds began to bleed as he moved. The manager ran for a wheelchair he kept in the office and he wheeled Axel to the maintenance elevator, while Julie grabbed their belongings and followed behind. Julie could hear sirens approaching as they wheeled Axel into a basement apartment.

The manager left, closing the door behind him, leaving Julie to cope with Axel in the dark.

A
xel woke in the dark
. Memories swirled through his head, or were they dreams? He remembered the intense pain when Julie cut the bullet from his shoulder. Then later being too hot, Julie holding a cloth to his head, making him swallow cool liquid. He put a hand on his side where the bullet had gone through. The skin around the wound was cool. No infection. He felt his thigh. No infection there either. He was trying to reach the wound on his shoulder when the light clicked on.

Axel looked around the little room. He was in the only bed, barely wide enough to hold him. Julie was in an uncomfortable looking armchair next to the bed, her hand on the lamp, blinking sleepily. The only other objects worth speculating about were the two doors. One to the bathroom, the other one the way out, he supposed. The room was dingy and dark. There were no windows. It was the perfect place for him to hide while recuperating.

“How are you feeling?” Julie asked, getting to her feet to feel his forehead. “I was beginning to think that fever was never going to break.” She lifted his shirt and peeled back the dressing. “This is much better,” She said. “I couldn’t get you to swallow much, so I packed the wound with antibiotic powder. I didn’t know if it would help or not. Roll over a little so I can look at your back.”

He gritted his teeth as she poked at the wound on his back. It hurt like a SOB, but he’d be damned if he’d act like an ungrateful asshole. He was willing to bet she hadn’t been fully asleep the entire time he’d been healing.

“How long was I out?” he asked. She sat back in the chair and the light illuminated the dark circles under her eyes, her hands shaking. With fatigue or hunger, he wondered.

“A couple of days,” she said. “I was scared to death.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I need a shower.”

“You haven’t showered? What about food? Have you eaten? Slept?” He felt the anger start to flow but he stamped it down. He wasn’t angry at her, so much as the situation. There had been no one to help her.

“The manager brought me a sandwich, but there’s no shower down here – just a toilet and a sink, so I couldn’t shower.” She closed her eyes.

“I’ve got some money in my wallet,” he said. “Take it and my truck and get some food. You’ll be all right. Just go straight to the truck and lock yourself in.”

“I just want to close my eyes for a minute,” she said, squirming around in the chair, trying to get comfortable. An impossibility by the looks of the chair.

“Come here,” he said. “Slide in beside me.” He moved so his back was on the very edge of the bed and held the blanket up. For a moment she looked like she would refuse, but then she deflated and slid in with him. Whatever her hesitation had been, exhaustion had trumped it.

He stayed until her breathing was deep and even, then he slid his arm out from under her and got out of bed. He was a little unsteady on his feet at first. He went into the tiny bathroom and splashed some water over his face and the back of his neck from the dirty sink. He found his duffle under the end of the bed and pulled on some clothes, found his wallet and the key to the room and let himself out, locking the door behind him.

He hoped the thug who’d shot him thought he was dead, but hope isn’t an emotion to act on. He was slow to come out into the daylight, cracking the door open and scanning the throughway before emerging. When he reached the parking lot he stood in the shadows scanning the parking lot for unusual activity. But it was Monday morning, there was only one other vehicle in the lot and it was locked and empty.

He got in the truck and headed for food. The drug store beside the fast food drive through made him think of the oozing wounds. He stopped at the pharmacy first and picked up supplies, adding a box of condoms to his basket. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten that. Julie had taken him by surprise.

He drove through the take out joint, bought just about two of everything and drove back to the hotel. He hadn’t been gone more than half an hour.

There was a second car in the lot when Axel drove in, but he didn’t think too much of it. This place had people coming and going at all hours. Axel grabbed the bags of food and first aid supplies with one hand and the drink carrier with the other, balancing the coffees and milkshakes with ease. He felt good. Happy for the first time in a long while. He liked that he was doing something for Julie now, it felt right to him.

The good feelings disappeared when he reached the basement room and the door was standing open. Martin was sitting in the chair with Julie on his lap. There was a bright red handprint on her cheek and a gun to her head. Rage threatened to overpower him, but he pushed it back. He needed a cool head to get Julie out of this.

“You all right, babe?” he asked.

She looked up and nodded; her eye swollen and purple, her lower lip cracked and bleeding.

“You should have never left her alone, boyo,” Martin said. “You made it easy for me. Move into the bathroom and shut the door.”

“I’m putting the food on the bed, bro. You should let her take it with you. It’s been a long time since she ate,” Axel said setting everything carefully on the bed, except the drinks which he balanced on the rickety bedside table. He moved into the bathroom but didn’t shut the door.

“What do I care if the whore is hungry,” Martin said. “That’s what she gets for leaving me.”

Martin pushed Julie roughly to her feet and shoved her toward the hall. When she reached the door, she grabbed the handle and slammed it hard on his gun hand. The gun dropped.

Axel exploded from the bathroom and grabbed Martin around the waist, pulling him away from the door.

“Run, babe! Run to the office and call the heat!” Axel turned his attention to Martin, who was attempting to elbow him in the gunshot wound in his side. They locked together, both trying for the upper hand. Axel used his height and weight advantages to fling Martin on the floor. He hit the bedside table and the coffee and milkshakes tumbled from the table and soaked him.

Martin jumped up pulling his soaking and obviously hot shirt over his head. His pants were covered in frozen dairy. He didn't seem to know which end to clean up first. Axel spotted the gun at the same moment Martin started to reach for it. Axel body checked him sideways, away from the gun sending Martin onto the bed and Julie's breakfast. For some reason, the ruined breakfast sent him into a rage. He slammed his elbow into Martins face, knocking Martin silly and causing a massive nosebleed.

"I've got the gun," Julie said from behind him. "You can get up, Axel."

He made a fist and slammed it into Martins face. The crunch of breaking nose made him grin. Take that you bastard, he thought.

"Axel! Stop!" Julie shouted. "You have to stop now!"

"He ruined your breakfast," Axel said. "That's why I went out, I knew you needed to eat and he's ruined it." He started forward again, the desire to smash in Martins face overwhelming him.

"I called the cops, Axel. You've got to get out of here," Julie said.

"I can't just leave you with this guy," Axel's mind was reeling. "I can hide in the bathroom."

"No. You can't. If you get caught here it will be my fault. I don't want you to go to jail. Please, Axel, for me. He's practically unconscious and I've got the gun."

The sound of sirens reached their ears and panic sprang onto her face. She looked at him, pleading with her eyes. He grabbed his duffle and ran up the stairs, out behind the motel and over the dusty field to the woods. He'd wait there until everything calmed down and he could go back to claim his truck. He watched as a stream of cop cars pulled in, sirens blaring. Soon the parking lot was full of flashing blue lights and there were cops stationed all over the place, guns drawn.

He couldn't see them pull Martin out of the basement, but pretty soon the cars started pulling away until only the forensics team was left. It was dark before Axel felt safe enough to make his way back across the field. He stopped in at the office and paid off the manager. It was the one way to make sure the motel stayed a good place to hide.

After that he got in his truck and drove. It was time for him to start making some changes in his life.