ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (9 page)

“Nice to meet you Caroline. Are you two staying for dinner?”

“Well I actually came to introduce Caroline and see if Lydia was here, which I see she is. I shouldn’t be surprised Mark is here as well.”

“He was here when I got home. I won’t go into the fact that he can get into my apartment, or that he left work before either of us.”

“That’s unusual. I would not mind staying for dinner if Julia made enough, and that wine looks amazing.”

Amy laughed and motioned for Kevin to sit before walking to the kitchen. “Is there enough for Kevin and Caroline to join us?”

“Absolutely. I was going to take some of this up to him anyway. Need a refill on your wine?”

“Yes, and one for Kevin please. I don’t know what Caroline drinks.”

“She loves tomato juice. I’ll get some.”

Somehow Amy managed to balance three glasses in her hands without spilling anything, and she handed Kevin his wine. “I have been told you like tomato juice?” Amy asked Caroline as she handed her the glass.

“Love it but daddy won’t let Lydia buy it for us.”

“Well then you’ll just have to come over here because I saw a lot of it in my fridge.”

Amy sat back down on the couch, smiling when Caroline remained leaned up against Mark. He was clearly good with her, and she didn’t think there was anything better than a man who was good with kids.

“Why are you with your dad today?” Mark asked.

“I got in trouble at school and got grounded, but mom had to work so she dropped me off here. I like it better here anyway, at mom’s I’m always alone until she comes home but here I have you guys and Lydia and John.”

“What did you do to get in trouble?”

“It’s nothing Uncle Mark. It was stupid.”

“Young lady, that’s not what I asked.”

Amy almost raised an eyebrow at how stern Mark suddenly was with her, and she looked at Kevin who appeared to find this normal. Seeing her look, Kevin explained. “Mark pays for her schooling as part of my benefits package, but in return she has to work hard and do well. Mark says as long as she tries her best he’s happy, but he takes an active interest in making sure she’s getting the best education she can possibly get. Private schools can get really expensive, and I’m very grateful to work for someone who values education.”

Amy just nodded that it made sense, watching Caroline try to squirm away from Mark. So Mark really cared about his employees, and he knew that Caroline deserved the best education she could get which he was able to provide. The fact that he actively stayed on top of her studies instead of just paying the bill and forgetting about her said a lot. Amy knew she was lost, and if Mark were to invite her into his bed she knew she’d say yes.

“Uncle Mark, it’s fine, really.”

“Young lady you have three seconds to tell me what got you in trouble or you can go stand in the corner.”

“It’s not fair! Mom already lectured me!”

“Caroline, just tell him,” Kevin said calmly. “You know you will eventually anyway, and you like it when Uncle Mark cares about what’s going on in your life.”

“Fine. I didn’t do my math homework and when my teacher asked about it I said a bad word.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Mark asked, pulling her back into a hug. “What are you doing after dinner?”

“I have a feeling that regardless of what I had planned I’ll be doing homework.”

“Excellent. Then I will say no more on it. I think dinner is about ready, you want to move to the table?”

Amy loved the evening they all spent together, as it appeared Mark was more relaxed and they simply enjoyed their time. Nobody brought up work, and when Caroline was sent to go get her homework she was allowed to do it at Amy’s kitchen table so she could still be in the room with them. It felt so normal that Amy wanted every evening to be like that.

A week later Mark was once again in her apartment, waiting for her when she arrived home, once again holding a glass of wine. “You really are allowed to do this every day, you know that right?” Amy asked as she took the glass of wine.

“I don’t know that,” Mark replied calmly. “You don’t mind that I’m here?”

“Not at all. I find myself enjoying your company and find myself missing something when you aren’t here. I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud.”

“I’m glad you did. I realized the same thing, and felt drawn to come here every day but stopped myself; thinking you wouldn’t want me to.”

“Don’t stop yourself in the future.”

“Look, I want to date you properly,” Mark said after a moment’s pause. “Even though it might not be entirely proper considering we work together, but I’ve wanted to since the moment we met. There are some things you need to know about me before we ever could though, and I’m afraid it might ruin what we have now.”

“Is whatever this is something Kevin knows about?”

“Yes, he does. He’s actually the only one who does.”

“Then whatever it is, it won’t affect how I feel. He is a great guy and he would never let his daughter near anyone he had doubts about. So what is it?”

“Almost sixty years ago, my parents had to move from where they were for fear of their lives. They had to abandon everything they had and everything they knew and move to this world they knew nothing about, and where they wouldn’t be accepted if people knew. They adopted a different look to fit in, and soon they had established themselves here in the city. When I was born, I had to change my looks as well and as I grew up I was comfortable in these new looks. However, I knew that inside I would always be different and that any children I had would always be different. I have been very successful in life, and I’ve been afraid it would all get ruined if people found out, so I haven’t told anyone. Kevin knows because there are certain times that I have to get rid of my other look and just be myself, and he knows not to disturb me no matter what when I do that. I’m sure you’ve seen movies about aliens and all that, and a lot of that isn’t true, but some of it is. Aliens exist, despite what many people believe, and they are often much more intelligent, business and technology savvy than humans. They don’t usually come to this planet for any reason because the atmosphere is so different than on their home planets, they simply don’t like it. Amy, my parents weren’t from this planet and I’m not fully human.”

Amy looked skeptical, thinking this couldn’t be true and was some kind of strange joke, but seeing how serious Mark was she knew she didn’t have a choice but to believe him. “I see. It’s hard to believe so I’m sorry if I seem skeptical. Do you have proof?”

Mark nodded and stood up. “There is a reason I asked Lydia not to be here until later. I’m going to change forms, but please don’t run away until I’ve changed back? I want to be able to talk about it.”

“Fair enough. Go ahead,” Amy replied, still not believing it was real. How could it? Aliens didn’t exist and while she knew there was a good chance there was life on other planets they didn’t know about, she didn’t believe they could actually come to earth.

Her mouth dropped open as she watched Mark close his eyes before suddenly it was like an invisible shield had fallen. His skin started disappearing, as did all his other features, and she couldn’t describe what was underneath it all. It was about the same height as Mark had been, and stood on two legs with what looked like two arms, but it’s head almost connected with its torso (could you even call it that?) and was much smaller. The strangest thing about it was that it was almost completely translucent, and no organs were visible from what she could see so she assumed it didn’t have any. She knew her reaction should be one of fear and shock, possibly even coupled with some nausea, but all she felt was turned on. It was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen and she found herself getting up and walking over to it, getting an up-close look. There didn’t appear to be a mouth or nose, but the eyes were big in the small head. There were only two fingers on the end of each arm without a distinct hand.

She reached out to touch it, and it let her before the arm reached around her and pulled her into a hug. She realized it felt just as soft as human skin, and she felt comfortable in that hug. She also wanted more, but had already seen that wasn’t going to be possible as it didn’t have any sexual organs.

She stepped back and waited for him to put his human appearance back on, watching in fascination as Mark came back and looked at her with a smile. “You didn’t run.”

“That has to be the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I would have jumped you like that except I don’t think it’s possible, is it?”

“It’s not, since my species reproduces differently, but like this it is perfectly possible. Like this my body serves as a way to transfer my genes to you, and have you fall pregnant with a baby who is of my species as opposed to merely human. It’s also why I have to wear a condom unless you want to become pregnant because it only takes once. Birth control doesn’t stop it and you don’t have to be ovulating either.”

“Interesting. Condom it is then, at least for now. You have some?”

“Yes. What are you saying?”

“I’m saying you should come with me to my bedroom. Come on Mark, don’t deny you want this because I know you do.”

“There’s one other thing. I can’t have sex with someone I don’t love, or with whom I’m not intending to marry. I had a brother who tried and there is a reason I’m an only child now.”

“I see. Do you love me?”

“I do. Do you want to marry me?”

“Not right now, but if you’re willing to take it slow? I don’t know what it is about you but in the span of two weeks I find myself wanting nothing more.”

“Then let’s take it to the bedroom,” Mark said as he grabbed her by the hand and started leading her down the hall. Once inside he turned her around and started undoing the zipper on her dress slowly, before letting it slide down her shoulders and back. Amy was instantly glad she had decided to wear matching lingerie that day, which she often didn’t bother with, and knew she looked good. She once again imagined Mark as he had been in the living room and felt excitement course through her. As soon as she was out of her dress she turned around again and started undoing the buttons on Mark’s shirt, realizing that his clothes had disappeared and reappeared along with his skin. She’d have to ask him about that later.

It took all of five minutes before they were both completely naked, at which point Mark turned her around with her back flush against him and reached a hand around to finger her. When she looked down, it was a translucent arm and she almost came undone right there. “I can turn only parts of me at will,” Mark whispered in her ear. “Get on the bed.”

Amy immediately obeyed and pulled back the covers before getting on the bed, looking back to see Mark, once again fully human. He looked magnificent and she couldn’t take her eyes off him, especially once she realized how large he was. Mark joined her on the bed, letting his hand run over her breasts and starting to kiss her before moving to lay right on top. She knew she didn’t need foreplay, and clearly he was ready as well. It was obvious that the revealing of his real self had turned Mark on while it had done the same for Amy, and she waited patiently when he put on a condom, knowing it was necessary.

As he slid into her, she felt a warmth go through her lower body like she had never felt before. She had been with men before, but this was different and she knew it. She started moving along with him, and Mark quickly picked up speed. It was clear they both wanted it fast and quick, and that’s exactly what happened as Amy came undone quicker than she ever had before, with Mark following soon after.

As he laid down beside her, she smiled at him and rolled into his arms. “You’re staying, right?”

“Definitely. I like your apartment better than mine, mine is really too large.”

“I like mine, I don’t want anything bigger. I do expect a ring by the way.”

Mark laughed, and Amy felt his laugh go through his whole body. “Demanding little thing aren’t you? I think I can manage a ring. We’ll have to do a formal announcement as well, that way it will avoid awkward rumors. We have to tell Kevin, Caroline, Lydia and John first though, they’d all be mad at us if we didn’t and quite frankly Lydia scares me when she’s angry.”

“Agreed. She scolded me earlier this week for not wanting to eat breakfast and I will never miss breakfast again. I love the group of friends we have and how comfortable we all are.”

“Agreed. It’s why I love having Kevin, Lydia and John live in the same building. It can get really lonely otherwise, but I doubt it will be that way going forward.”

“Hmmm. Going forward I expect you at home with a glass of wine when I get home. Or at least a glass of wine waiting for me if you have to work late.”

“I’ll do that. With those amazing sweatpants. Those really ought to be illegal. So are you ready to go out and eat dinner? I have no doubt Lydia is already here.”

“Let’s go tell her. She’ll be excited, of that I have no doubt. Besides, we’ve just made her job a whole lot easier,” Amy said with a smile while getting up. She knew they were moving fast, and she knew it was unconventional, but she had always done things the unconventional way. So what if he was an alien? He was gorgeous and kind, gentle and loving, and he truly cared. She couldn’t ask for more than that in a man, and if the sight of him in his other form always had that effect on her she would not be opposed to seeing it more regularly.

T
rudi Campbell moved
her car off of the interstate, onto a side road her GPS swore would get her to Atlanta, Georgia faster than the interstate would and wondered if the change was a good idea. She looked doubtfully over at the device as the dulcet tones of an English accented male voice told her to go 300 feet and turn right. She hated that voice after 350 miles of hearing it demand she make U-turns and take the next exit ten times before she was even close to the exit. She reminded herself to change the voice the next time she stopped for gas.

The sun was going down now and Trudi kept an eye out for a place to stop and have something to eat. Five hours of driving had left her with a sore bottom and a hungry tummy. Unfortunately this must have been the loneliest stretch of road the area had to offer. She hadn’t even passed a house much less a convenience store in the last five miles. She hadn’t seen any other cars either, come to think of it.

Her hunger pangs turned to a dramatic drop in her stomach as the car suddenly jolted and the engine started to make a high pitched screeching noise. Slamming her foot down on the brake as instinct took over, Trudi looked through her windscreen as smoke started to rise from under the front of the car.

“Oh, this can’t be good. What do you suggest now Mr. Hoity-Toity?” Trudi asked the now silent GPS unit. “No answer for that one, huh? Well then.” She looked around as the sun finally settled below the horizon, taking the little bit of daylight she had left with it.

Seeing no other cars that might come to her aid and knowing the car wasn’t going to stay going much longer Trudi drove to the side of the road only for the GPS unit to chirp at her once more in its condescending tone, “Satellite signal has been lost, searching for satellite signal.”

Trudi gave the unit a glare and made a rude gesture at it before turning off her car and picking up her phone only to see an “x” where signal meter should have been.

“I knew that was going to be the case. Looks like I’ll be walking then.” Looking down at the pristine white pantsuit she was wearing and the low heels on her feet she regretted the decision she’d made that morning to enter her new home in the city looking professional.

Yesterday she’d had on trainers, jeans, and a sweatshirt, much more appropriate attire for the walk she was about to take, but she was playing the part of a professional now. At 22, she had a bachelor’s degree in political science and a job with a senator waiting for her in the city; far from the poverty she’d grown up with in her small West Virginia town. When she was preparing to leave this morning she’d decided that looking the part she truly hoped for was important. Blake Shippington III was single, handsome, and the man of Trudi’s dreams. Landing a job with him got her foot in the door, now she just had to convince him she was wife material.

Looking outside of the car she realized this was going to be a very long dark walk. No lights in either direction meant there were no houses or shops ahead. There were also no lights on the side of the road, no cars passing by, and her phone was almost dead. Clicking on the flashlight app on her phone Trudi hoped she would find something before the phone’s battery died and before she ruined her shoes walking on the gravel-lined side of the road. It was cold now so hopefully there’d be no wandering snakes or other creatures out looking for a midnight meal.

“That’s it Trudi, freak yourself out before you even get out of sight of the car. That’s a good idea.” She put on her coat, held the phone out in front of her, and started putting one foot in front of the other. She wasn’t going to get anywhere sitting around here, time to get to marching. She went in the direction she’d been heading in hoping that this would bring her to some sort of civilization. And if she disappeared off of the face of the Earth maybe her GPS would point any observers in the direction she’d headed in.

“There you go Trudi, doing it again. Stop thinking negatively!” She chided herself. “And stop talking to yourself; you look like a crazy woman doing that.”

As she walked, occasionally hiding the light from her phone to look for signs of lights Trudi thought about the people at home. None of them would likely miss her for a while, nobody would bother to look. Her mother was too busy going to church and praying and her father had died when she was 12, the rest of the family had all moved away looking for jobs and a better life long ago. Her mother was the lone holdout on their mountain now. Trudi really didn’t have many friends at home either, she’d been far too shy and most of the other kids thought her Momma was crazy and wouldn’t play with her. Trudi only had the teacher that had encouraged her to finish school and helped to secure a scholarship for her university education, and Mrs. Andrews had gone off to Europe this year now that she’d retired. No, there was really nobody at home that would miss her for a long time.

Growing up she’d barely known what electricity was her family had been so poor. When she’d gone off to the university her world had begun to open and she’d started to map out her life, what she wanted, who she wanted, and the kind of life she wanted to have. She wanted to be like one of those senators’ wives she’d seen in magazines and on television, always clean looking, healthy, with a smile on her face. They must have wonderful lives. She wasn’t stupid, she knew there were up and downs in relationships but she still hadn’t had a proper boyfriend yet. You couldn’t really call those two quick couplings at the only two college parties she’d attended relationships after all. Trudi knew she may be a bit naïve but she also knew what she wanted and it wasn’t the hardscrabble dirt-filled life her mother had led.

If that meant she had to use the fake flat accent she’d cultivated while at university and use manners she’d learned in old etiquette books to give the air of being a well-bred, boarding school educated young lady then so be it. From now on she was Trudi Campbell, professional not Trudi Campbell, holler-dweller from Split Creek Holler. Trudi straightened her spine from the slump she’d taken on as she walked and reminded herself of whom she was now, and who she was going to be. Her final secret was safe and nobody would ever know it. Not a single soul outside of Split Creek Holler.

An hour later Trudi started to see lights ahead. Her feet were aching, her legs growing tired, and the hunger pangs she’d felt earlier were now full-on audible growls. She could smell the tell-tale scent of fried food and hear loud music as she stepped closer to the place and her stomach growled louder. Putting a hand to her stomach Trudy smiled. Normally she wouldn’t touch fried food, it was so fattening, but she knew she deserved whatever she was about to eat after that long walk. She quickened her pace, the lights beckoning to her, assuring her of safety and rescue.

Trudi smiled as she saw the sign for the business; no words just a constellation lit up in bright white lights against a dark background. Maybe their burgers were out of this world? Looking at the constellation Trudi wasn’t sure but she thought it was Ursa Major. Her grandmother taught her all of the constellations when she was a young girl but her grandmother passed away when she was nine years old and Trudi had all but stopped looking up to the stars for answers. Strange that they’d chosen a bear sign as their logo, Trudi thought just before she looked down and her steps faltered.

The parking area was filled with motorcycles; there must have been at least 60 of them lined up in neat rows. Not a single car was in sight. All Trudi could do was stare as her mother’s words about bars and places like this played through her head, “full of vice and sin, no decent woman would ever set foot in a place like that.”

Trudi looked down at her shoes, no longer pristine but covered in dust and scuffs. The cuffs of her bright white silk trousers were now covered in an orange dust from the clay dirt but the rest wasn’t too bad. Still, this was the kind of place her mother warned her to stay out of, the kind of place where bad things happened to good girls. Trudi realized her long legs were starting to tremble and tensed them at once to control the sensation while she looked for any other lights. She couldn’t see anything else around.

Steeling herself against unknown threats and hoping her mother was wrong, Trudi forced one foot in front of the other until she was at the door, the loud rock music from inside vibrating through the hard panel of oak. Looking down at the handle Trudi’s growling stomach made the final decision for her and she pulled the door open. Cigarette smoke, the smell of spilled beer and fried food, screaming voices, and the extremely loud music hit Trudi as if she’d run straight into a wall.

With wide eyes Trudi stared into the gathered crowd, noting both men and women were present. She knew this because every man and woman in the place stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Even the people playing on the pool tables in the bar decorated with roughhewn wood and cheap posters stopped to stare at her. The only person that didn’t stop to star at Trudi was the very beautiful woman dancing on a table, apparently lost in her own world. The woman was slim, busty, with dark hair and an olive complexion. Her eyes were a startling shade of blue and Trudi, for all she was being stared at, stared at the barely clothed woman. A bikini didn’t count as clothing to Trudi and she was certain that the way the woman was swinging her breasts was going to cause the woman’s nipples to break free of the scraps of cloth in just moments.

As Trudi watched, her breath held in anticipation, somebody dropped a glass. The shattering of the glass brought Trudi back to reality and she looked around at the people assembled in the bar with a good dose of fear in her dark brown eyes. She gulped once, fluffed her chin length blonde hair into place, straightened her spine, and walked over to the bar. As she walked through the crowd she looked straight ahead, ignoring the admiring glances of both men and women at her own ample chest, or the comments about the shapeliness of her legs. Other remarks weren’t so kind and asked why those in the front hadn’t thrown her right back out, apparently Trudi’s type wasn’t wanted here. For her part, she tried to hide her sneer from the barely clothed women, the pot-bellied long-bearded men, and the rest of the people in the bar.

Hunger and a burning desire to get out of this place drove her to the bar where a rather handsome man was eyeing her over while pulling a beer from the tap. She was thinking of how surprisingly handsome the man was when her left food skidded through something wet and she almost landed on the floor. Those that had started to go back to their conversations stopped again as Trudi tried to regain her balance, succeeded, then carried on to the bar. No laughter, no catcalls, they all just made an approving sound at once, and then went back to their conversations.

Pulling down on the suit top Trudi refocused on the barman and sat down on the least filthy looking stool of the bunch.

“What can I get for you, ma’am?” The green-eyed dark haired devil asked her. Trudi felt a strange urge to run her fingers through the shiny dark curls covering the man’s head but she squelched that notion and asked for a telephone.

“My car broke down a couple of miles back and I had to walk here. My phone isn’t working either so I was hoping I could use yours to call for service?” Trudi asked with her well-practiced but fake smile. The smile made her look vacuously happy but somehow managed to be rebuffing as well. It usually did the trick for putting people off.

“Oh, I can give you all of the servicing you’ll ever need, little lady, just you say the word.” The man replied with a sultry smile that was nowhere near as faked as Trudi’s. In fact, it revealed a joy in life that Trudi could never hope to attain. His smile made her want to squash him, his words brought out an immediate need to put him in his place.

She looked him up and down, gave him a practiced sneer, and said, “I highly doubt that. May I use the phone?”

Just as Mr. Happy was about to make another cynical comment another barman, this one just as dark but with the same blue eyes as the female dancer she’d been ogling earlier, smiled and placed an old-fashioned corded phone in front of her.

“Feel free, ma’am. Please excuse my friend Travis here; he’s had one too many drinks tonight I think. Travis, why don’t you go out back and get another keg of Polar Bear Lager? We’re running low.”

“Thank you…?” I let my words trail off, asking for his name.

He pushed his hand at her and said “Quinn, my name is Quinn. Glad to meet you.”

“Trudi, thank you Quinn, I won’t be long I hope.” I replied as he turned the volume down on the jukebox and people’s screaming levelled out to a low murmur.

The relaxed feeling Trudi had after speaking with Quinn quickly evaporated as the auto association she was a member of told her no towing services would be available until the following morning and that no taxi services were willing to come and pick her up; she was too far outside of their zones.

“But there’s no hotels around here that I’ve seen, nowhere for me to even get a ride to one! What am I supposed to do all night, sleep in my car?” Trudi asked loudly, her anger and fear rising. She lowered her voice when some of the bar’s patrons turned to look at her.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Campbell, there’s nothing more I can do, may I help you with anything else?” The woman on the end of the phone asked her.

“No, I don’t think so. But the next time I’m in need of rescuing and want a company I pay in case something such as this happens, but don’t actually want them to help me, I’ll know who to call. I’m not even sure why I pay for this service now, I’ll be thinking on that as I try to figure my way out of this situation. Goodbye.” Trudi said and placed the phone’s receiver gently back in its cradle.

Slumping on her stool Trudi glumly looked up at the menu on the wall behind the bar and ordered a cheeseburger and some fries from Quinn when he came back. The handsome blue-eyed man had managed to keep Travis busy for a while now and Trudi was grateful. As he brought her a plate of food Trudi thanked him and smiled wanly, a much more watery smile than her previous one but at least this one was real.